If you’ve read FAIR’s latest alert on ABC’s Iran propaganda, let ABC know how you feel. And please post your letters/comments in the thread below.
Peter Hart
Peter Hart was the activist director of FAIR for 15 years, as well as the co-host of FAIR's radio show CounterSpin. He is now the senior field communications officer for Food & Water Watch.
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Comments
In the header I said “please stop recycling” and in the message I said:
Please stop recycling long-disproved Iraq-War lies to promote a war against Iran. Enough is enough!
(Copy of letter to ABC):
Your January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric — not generate propaganda.
Please do not cave in to the Israeli-generated hysteria.
After wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. does not need another war.
What is wrong with peace and prosperity?
So, now you’re warmongering? Yet another reason to watch PBS.
(copy of email to ABC)
It has become abundantly clear that ABC, along with most of the MSM, continues to spew out one-sided propaganda pieces about Iran, and the threat they pose. Whatever happened to the idea that journalism was suppose to question the authenticity and factual basis of outrageous government statements? Instead, ABC and its reporters have become nothing more then mouthpieces for the governments attempts to sway public opinion about Iran. The IAEA, and almost every credible intelligence agency has concluded that Iran has not, and is not building any nuclear warheads or weapons.
Perhaps you should run this piece. A recent EU poll show that the vast majority of the people living in Europe consider Israel to be the most dangerous country in the world. Why haven’t you run a piece on that?
Rodney Devereux
Del Mar, Ca.
Viet Nam Vet. – 3 tours of duty
(Email sent to ABC World News)
I was very disappointed to hear Diane Sawyer parrot government allegations of Iran’s purported intent to commit an act of terrorism on U.S. soil during the Jan. 31 ABC World News broadcast. These allegations were presented as fact with “evidence” that was sketchy, at best. Worse, there was absolutely NO mention of experts such as Karim Sadjadpour and Juan Cole who dispute these allegations.
Haven’t we seen this movie before? After the pointless bloodbath of the Iraq invasion, I would think that *real* journalists would have learned better than to be cheerleaders for those who now wish to repeat that senseless, costly mistake, this time in Iran.
Maybe Diane wants to follow in Judith Miller’s footsteps and be a shill for another neocon folly, but the American people want and deserve better. Apparently they will need to look elsewhere for real facts, and not to ABC World News.
You’ve lost me as a viewer.
Charlene Fluder
Manchester, Michigan
Dear Ms. Sawyer and ABC World News:
When will you stop doing the bidding of the Government propagandists? They are just trying to sell war with Iran because they want control of its oil, not because it’s a threat. Practically every country the US has gone to war with in the past decade plus — either directly or indirectly — or made warlike noises about, is a major oil producer: Iraq, Libya, Venezuela. Now Iran. This is not hard to see through.
You should know that people are waking up and won’t tolerate this nonsense any more. How about doing the real job of the Fourth Estate for a change instead of being Government mouthpieces selling fear and war to the people?
Sincerely,
Robert Brown
To Abc world news,
I am disappointed to have watched Diane Sawyer present the news regarding Iran showing more aggressive thought and effort to attacking our country, noting only last year’s attempt on the life of Saudi Arabia embassador on our soil.
This news really frightened me and I am sure, everyone watching your show that night. This was cruel and irresponsible on your part. In the future, please do your own investigations and don’t depend on propoganda. If you are going to revert to the scare tactics that Republicans/tea party use daily, then I will consider you another Fox news and discontinue watching your show.
Really…cheesy. Same story, different country. You should have been ashamed the first time w WMD stories. Without real investigative reporting, your credibility is weakened. I stopped watching. Just more advertisement for military complex and the 1%.
I am amazed how far you will go to please Israeli Government. You should be ashamed to put your own country’s well being behind another country’s benefit with this kinds of senseless, pointless accusations. Didn’t we learn anything from Iraq war? How much more damage should there be to teach you? Or should I assume you are working for Israeli Government instead of USA?
You seem to be intentionally stirring up hate and fear by inaccurate reporting on Iran, taking cues from Israel and possibly causing a war that will be devastating to US interests and again having all tax money go to war. Try fact checking.
Why would you want to be the next Judith Miller?
I can never watch ABC news under these conditions.
MsMs
Los Angeles Ca
Dear ABC World News,
Your January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat coming from that country. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to questions official rhetoric, not generate propaganda. Your news program in fact demonstrated very little evidence that Iran is, in fact, planning or scheming for war with the U.S. But it has done plenty to augment the current state of tension regarding U.S. / Iranian relations, and if anything gives a very misleading image to your viewers.
Again, your job as a news program and as journalists should be to confront all propaganda displays, wether from our government or from another country, as equally deserving of equal scrutiny and skepticism. Unfortunately, I saw very little of that in your January 31 broadcast.
Sincerely,
John McFaul
Woodside, NY
Dear ABC News,
I am disappointed as well as many Americans with the level of professionalism you show when covering Iran related news. You are promoting another war in which thousands of innocent Iranians as well as US soldiers are going die. Why you don’t report facts.
Well, you and most of our main stream media are losing credibility in the eye of the Americans, and you should know that there are many many alternative news sources where we can get facts.
I hope you revise your policies and start promoting peace instead of war.
Sincerely,
Hussain Alseddiq
ABC World News used to be a respected place people visited to get the real news. But to ally itself to propaganda for an imagined threat inciting another abominable war that people definitely do not want is betraying viewers’ trust, not to speak of bad journalism.
Could Herr Goebbels’ formula be losing its efficacy by overuse? Might “truth” uncloaked have a novelty appeal?
Dr. Ashraf Izzat, an Iranian doctor and a political commentator seems to think that the lies about Iran this time are a few too many. He believes that the world is breaking lose from the “chain of obedience” to the American-Israeli-NATO chain of command. [An interview on PRESS TV] “People are gaining control now and a new world order is emerging with new powers and new rules â┚¬Ã‚¦ especially in the Middle East. So this Israeli bluff to hit Iran may be the last political stunt,” he concluded.
We Americans should let the Iranians know that not all of us can be herded by propagandistic incitements to go to war where “ignorant armies” that clash by night (of false fear mongering).
ABC could, instead, be the vehicle of sending messages of friendship of Americans to other people in the world despite its government’s silly propaganda.
Prof. F. M. Boughey
New York, NY
Iran 1/31
Do you really want another war like the causeless war in Iraq? Do you really want the U.S. to tear yet another country to shreds, kill and maim its people, set off a civil war, give the Muslim world another reason to hate us and justify terrorism–all the while getting more of our own troops killed and maimed and crazed?
Or did you let Diane Sawyer convey government propaganda–of the kind a little research would prove questionable–so she could maintain “access” to important sources
Please don’t be part of the problem.
Judith Davidsen
To Diane Sawyer and news team:
Your January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda and fear.
You have a responsibility to critique pro-war propaganda, not just pass on government hype that is intended to prepare the population for war. We do not need any more wars anywhere! Negotiations are what are needed, even if extended. All govenments should be working through the United Nations to achieve peace with justice.
Sincerely,
Murray D. Lumley
Toronto, Ontario
Canada,
I’m a lot more interested in the role that Iran stopping to trade it’s oil in US dollars versus Euro’s has in this decision to discredit and attack Iran….
Dear ABC World News,
Your January 31st brought about alarming claims, but no in the way you intended.
The broadcast was very much a reminder of the harmful and deceitful situation Iraq brought,
with all the nonsense about WMD’s. “Evidence” presented on your show should be taken
very lightly, like the Saudi ambassador assassination plot. These and other ideas should
not be taken without serious questioning because there is serious doubt in these claims.
Instigating the strength of Iran’s military (1/40 the size of the US’s) by showing “threatening”
pictures and videos during a military parade tells me ABC’s stance on the possibility of
war with Iran. Don’t let government officials’ statements go unchallenged. Journalism is
about uncovering the truth. I hope we can see that in future reports.
Ramie Streng
12:38 PM (0 minutes ago)
to abc.worldnews
Please don’t make the same mistake the NYT did with the build up to Iraq and never questioning the official line, but instead repeating their lies .Judith Miller will be forever linked with leading the American people right into war. Shame on her and shame on her editors. I expect more from ABC. My father was a journalist, a fair one, and he always questioned the official line ( he had been with Stars and Stripes and worked for the pentagon after WW2 so he could smell the snow job a mile away)
Dear ABC World News,
Please do not be sensationalistic in your coverage of Iran. A decade ago you and the rest of the news media swallowed up the official story from the federal government about supposed WMD in Iraq and further blew up the story to encourage the U.S. to go to war. That needless war left hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq dead. Less importantly, it also costs this country $3 trillion.
Please do your duty as a journalistic operation and stop pulling a Hearst on us. Investigate the story and don’t just cover what the Director of National Intelligence reports without seriously questioning his evidence.
The propaganda of ABC’s January 31st report on Iran is a deja vu of the run up to the attack on Iraq which, after 11 years, could be costing us $3 trillion, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of lives lost, and the millions injured and displaced. It appears the US is trying to force Iran into taking a hostile position, giving the US a rationale for a military strike. The international oil industry wants control of the Strait of Hormuz. But the people of the US cannot afford to further support the greed of the oil industry with our tax dollars and the lives of our children.
At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda.
Thank you,
Shelley Buonaiuto
It is your job to question the lies coming from many sources not to echo their drumbeats for more War. We have a class war going on right here at home and all our resources need to go to taking care of the 99% ‘s needs . How much are you covering this important war -not at all that I can see. The appalling transfer of wealth that has taken place for the last 30 years is news worth reporting. STOP BEATING THE DRUMS FOR ANOTHER UNNECESSARY, ILLEGAL, IMMORAL WAR. Shame on ABC World News. What News are you supposedly reporting from the World??????? ugly stuff you folks
My email to ABC:
“I join with FAIR in expressing my disappointment in ABC’s biased coverage of Iran specifically and the Middle East in general. Anyone who has been following the events surrounding the US & Israeli attitudes toward Iran, knows very well the high level of bellicosity expressed by almost daily proclamations from Tel Aviv and Washington.”
Your January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda. Don’t let the government manipulate your reporting on Iran in the same way it did on Iraq. We cannot afford another useless war, the only purpose of which is to enrich the military-industrial complex.
ABC World News:
I am responding to FAIR’s Action Alert regarding your blatantly propagandistic report on the supposed threat from Iran. Your report was indeed propaganda disguised as journalism. It failed to provide a balanced view of actual events and merely echoed government rhetoric. Clearly it is the American and Israeli governments who are the threatening parties, not Iran. Is was our government who broadcast to the world recently that all options are on the table when it comes to punishing Iran for pursuing a nuclear energy policy that is within the terms of their Nonproliferation Treaty. You failed to point this out. In addition it is our government who is economically punishing Iran and strong-arming other countries to do the same. It was Iran who experienced the most recent terrorist attack on its soil when one of its nuclear scientists was assassinated by outside forces. In addition, it’s our government who has surrounded Iran with military bases and sent navy vessels to patrol off its shores, not the other way around. And why is Israel’s undisclosed nuclear weapons given a free pass in your reporting; it is know that they have at least 200 nuclear missiles while Iran has none, and it’s Israel who has been threatened to bomb Iran, not the other way around. Who exactly is threatening whom? You need to provide Americans with facts and a balanced report. Stop echoing government propaganda and give us a follow report without the propaganda, one that clearly explains to the American people what I’ve outlined above.
John Vincent
Burlingame, CA
Sent to ABC today:
Gone are the days when we can all sit back and believe our leaders, and I’d like to think that journalists, as a rule, check their facts. From the beginning, this “Iran Scare” has been a sham to anybody who actually looked into it. There is almost no real evidence that Iran is going to hurt anybody. Israel, maybe, but not Iran.
Your January 31 ABC World News with Diane Sawyer was just one example of the drum beat leading to another war wanted by nobody but the war profiteers.
How do you sleep at night? And don’t you know that Obama is as much a warmonger as the Bush-Cheney crew was?
Check your facts, ignore your war profiteering advertisers, and do some real reporting for a change, please.
Sincerely,
Kathryn Kern
Montana
Here’s what I sent:
Dear ABC World News,
Your January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran.
The newscast focused on that day’s Senate testimony by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who told lawmakers that the U.S. intelligence community believes that Iran may be “now more willing to conduct an attack in the United States in response to real or perceived U.S. actions that threaten the regime.”
In its effort to substantiate Clapper’s strong claim, ABC could only provide the most dubious evidence. As Raddatz announced:
He pointed specifically to last year’s plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States and to reports that Iran has been supporting Hezbollah cells in Latin America.
From the beginning, there have been serious questions about the Saudi ambassador assassination plot (IPS, 10/17/11, FAIR Blog, 10/12/11). As University of Michigan Iran expert Juan Cole (Informed Comment, 10/12/11) pointed out, the claim that the Iranian government tried to hire a Mexican drug gang to kill a diplomat “makes no sense.” The Wall Street Journal (2/1/12) quoted Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace saying, “If that’s the only data point, I think it’s a stretch to conclude that the regime is now looking to commit acts of terror on U.S. soil.” But in ABC’s report, it’s unquestioned fact.
The idea that Hezbollah has active cells in Latin America has been challenged as well–as PolitiFact noted (11/22/11), the State Department determined there are no such groups in our hemisphere.
How any of that might be connected to Iran is unclear, but ABC did its part by running footage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting politicians the United States does not support: “Ahmadinejad recently traveled there, meeting leaders like Cesar Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro who have little love from the U.S.”
ABC also illustrated the supposed Iranian threat with stock footage of weaponry and soldiers from an Iranian military parade–suggesting without spelling it out that viewers ought to feel threatened by a military force roughly 1/40th the size of the United States’ armed forces.
It’s important to remember that U.S. officials have regularly threatened that “no options” are “off the table” in dealing with Iran. That is code for using nuclear weapons–and Barack Obama’s repetition of that apocalyptic threat got a standing ovation during his January 24 State of the Union address (The Hill, 1/24/12).
It is hard to argue honestly that the real escalation is coming from the Iranian side.
At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda. Journalists, especially, should recall the repeated claims of WMDs in Iraq that were used to justify an invasion and occupation that has cost the U.S. trilllions of dollars, destroyed the moral stature of our nation in the eyes of the world – and which eventually proved that there never were any WMDs. The claims were deliberate lies and distortions.
We used to be able to expect better from ABC News than repetition of unsubstantiated justifications for aggressive warfare.
Sincerely,
Rashid Patch
Oakland, California
To ABC:
How can you possibly charge Iran with the intention of terror in the US solely based on this ridiculous FBI story about assignation plot?
Have you forgotten that the US (and sometimes its Israeli allies) is funding and arming anti-Iranian militants in and near Iran, murdering Iranian scientists, calling for a world-wide boycott of Iran’s major revenue export, etc. Get realâ┚¬Ã‚¦
David Mayes
Minneapolis MN
greetings:
aren’t you sick and tired of being the “political” arm of the government–or even worse—the guard dog of Israel— instead of the watchdog to keep it in check as you used to be in your heyday?
do you honestly want to continue the madness that was begun with the Gulf Wars? The progaganda and lies that lead to the murder of a million plus people and the destruction of this country’s financial infrastructure—not to mention Iraq, Afghanistan and so on?
I am so upset about the pre-war entertainment called news these days, i no longer watch television…i heard about this latest crap about Iran via Diane Sawyer via FAIR. You people need to serious reconsider the path you are taking. Iran is not Iraq—preemptive strikes are evil…and Israel is leading us down a devastating slope of no return.
I no longer have much pride in this country. seriously.
Ivy
Subject: Stop the Iran war-mongering
Body:
Dear corporate media,
Iran is a country with an economy the size of Connecticut’s that spends 1/100th of the U.S.’s military budget on weaponry. Like Nicaragua, it is not now, nor has it ever been a threat to the U.S. I realize that didn’t stop an illegal war in Nicaragua, but let’s not let things go that far.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has overthrown Iran’s democratically-elected government, encouraged Saddam Hussein to attack Iran, invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, and armed Iran’s regional enemies. The disproportion is simply staggering.
I realize sponsors of your programming may profit from high tensions in the Middle East, but the cynicism of stirring up trouble in hopes of profit is simply evil.
Stop it.
Propagandistic reporting on the supposed threat from Iran.
It’s sad the corporate media so blatantly espouses the real interests of it’s corporate conglomerate,
war profiteering, resource dominance, hegemony, maintaining the status quo.
The corporate media serves these ends.
No longer the fourth estate that served society.
It’s sad and shameful the utter decline into irrelevance and worse, stupid hilarity.
The market tested toothpaste smile vacuous talking heads doing this deed are culpable for it’s outcomes.
I know who to blame for the mess this society is in.
It’s who misdirects society to their own benefit.
It’s who panders to the least common denominator to sell them beer.
Give them the circus and beer, and they’re happy.
Corporate media,may you soon have no audience at all.
I certainly don’t know one talking head from another.
Robert Travaline (Vietnam Veteran)
(Copy of email to ABC news and Diane Sawyer)
The news journalist’s job is a difficult one, without doubt. Loyal listeners and casual observers alike have historically relied on reports from major news outlets such as ABC, NBC, CBS, and more recently CNN and FOX, to be truthful and correct. It is disheartening to realize that younger adults now look to Comedy Central for more accurate and honest reporting
It cannot be emphasized enough that printed and electronic media plays a leading role in the formation of public opinion. The responsibility of the media is to report truthfully and not mislead, even accidently. It is also incumbent upon journalists to maintain a skepticism which leads to diligent fact checking prior to the completion and airing of a report.
May I join with the many concerned listeners who question the motives of ABC News and the sources used to compile recent reports regarding current Iran-USA tensions. I believe the following statement to be true: The journalist’s responsibility is to question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda.
Please consider a further report that investigates any current claims about the supposed threat to the U.S. from Iran. Such a report might include activities from that regime that should concern the American public today, rather than claims of a questionable Iran/Hezbollah connection in Latin America that concerned an assassination plot on the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. It could also ask for officials to provide evidence to support allegations that Iran is “more determined than ever to launch an attack on U.S. soil.”
(Copy of letter sent to ABC news)
To whom it may concern,
Diane Sawyer’s report on the “threat” from Iran on January 31st was just a depressing piece of propaganda. It is just another example of how low American journalism has fallen since I was growing up many years ago. It followed the Iraq war template so closely you’d think someone would have put the brakes on it before it went on air. But by now the dumbing down is just routine. Believe me, I know that this letter will have no affect on how you think, your calculations are deeply entrenched. American journalism has reached the point of no return. It is what it is, junk. It’s never going back to when it had at least a modicum of respectability no matter how many emails you receive. The real interests it serves will never permit it. All I can say is thank goodness for Democracy Now! and Aljazeera.
Russell Branca
US government claims about about Iran should be met with skepticism and examined critically–not repeated as the truth.
Apparently the lesson of Bush’s misleading the nation into a costly and unnecessary war with Iraq has been forgotten by ABC news.
Is ABC so eager to beat the drums of war that intelligent examination of the Iran problem is out of the question?
It is extraordinary that ABC has not yet had a non-government military expert point out that deterring any nuclear threat from Iran should be child’s play compared to deterring the Soviet Union
Here’s what I just sent to ABC:
Hello ABC,
Goodness, haven’t we learned anything from the Iraq War?
Please, please, please – before you once again help lead our country into another futile, expensive and deadly war. go back and look at what you wrote prior to our invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was a war based upon lies – and the media went along with those lies.
Now, will you pledge that you will not make the same mistake again?
Isn’t ABC just carrying out its usual function? I came of age in the eighties and can remember similar campaigns against Libya and the Sandinistas. I do not remember a Golden Age when things were different.
The campaign should focus on educating the people to distrust everything the MSM produces. As a tool of empire, the MSM is always compromised by the very framing of the subjects they tackle.
An appeal to truth telling, by these organs, is quite fruitless in my opinion
On 2/2/12 I sent the following letter to ABC World News:
Your January 31, 2012 ABC World News broadcast reported on James Clapper’s ridiculous claim that it is Iran, rather than the United States, that is fomenting war in the Middle East. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) shows that the claims about the plot to kill the Saudi Ambassador make no sense at all. And if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Chavez and Castro, SO WHAT? That’s not news and it’s not a threat to us. We certainly can’t expect everyone to love us the way we bully countries all over the world.
And let”s not forget that it was the United States which overthrew a popular, democratically elected President in Iran (Mohammad Mosaddegh) in 1953 and installed a DICTATOR (the Shah) so that BP could control Iran’s oil. Iran is run by dangerous religious ideologues, but they’re only dangerous to Iranians, not us.
I feel like we’re being LIED into another war. Iran has done nothing to us, and ABC should stop reporting every rumor and government claim that we are being threatened by Iran which is intent mainly on not being bullied and intimidated by the U.S.. DO YOUR JOB! INVESTIGATE! DON’T JUST REPORT! You’re being a dupe of a government disinformation campaign.
Tom Riddering
Your failure to challenge official claims about danger from Iran endangers us all in the long run. The real escalation continues to come from the American side â┚¬” the sanctions, the navy parked off the coast, the “all options on the table” nuclear threats, the drones illegally flying in Iran’s airspace â┚¬” and you provided none of the promised evidence that “Iran is willing to launch a terrorist strike inside the U.S.” Quoting government officials is not evidence. It never should have been seen that way, but especially after the embarrassing run-up to Iraq, you should know better.
The evidence for the Saudi assassination plot is thin, and the alleged plot itself is risible. You cite as fact a claim that Iran used a retired used car salesman to hire a drug cartel to blow up a bomb in a restaurant. The story is full of holes. See, e.g., here: .
As for Hizballah operating in Latin America, the State Department itself doesn’t believe that: .
Finally, the clip about Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons program that you put in was, as usual, misleading. Here’s what you had to say in 2007: . Since the absence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program was politically inconvenient, it has been backtracked, but even Panetta and Dagan, who work for governments hostile to Iran’s, claim it would take several years to finish a nuclear weapon, even once the uranium enrichment was completed. See, e.g., .
Tell Martha Raddatz, also, to look up the word “bracing.” It doesn’t mean what she seems to think it means â┚¬” that is, unless she thinks a war would be good for her health. From what I can tell of your coverage, though, maybe you all think that.
Jeffrey Carlson
In regard to its Jan. 31 report on the threat from Iran, it appears that abc world news is acting either as an instrument of propaganda for the NIA and US government, or is so credulous and sloppy in practicing journalism it shouldn’t be on the air. It is noteworthy that the “saber-rattling” is said by the report to be coming Iran, when any reader of real “world news” would be quite aware of the bellicose messages coming from the US and Israel concerning Iran’s nuclear program. Never mind facts or evidence at ABC concerning Hezbollah or suspicious assassination attempts though – they’ll take the director of the NIA at his word. And actual assassinations of Iranian scientists? Not a peep.
Daniel Johnson
Binghamton, NY
I am appalled that Diane Sawyer and ABC are subjecting the American public to propagandistic reporting (the January 31 ABC World News broadcast on the alleged threat from Iran.) It is clear that tensions are being escalated with regard to Iran, and American citizens need journalists to question “official rhetoric” and carefully scrutinize, rather than to generate propaganda.
ABC and Diane Sawyer are guilty of turning questionable allegations into facts. This is very much like the run up to the launch of the Iraq war. At that time, there was enough data out there to seriously question the assertions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and yet the mainstream media failed to do their job. We cannot afford a repeat of that travesty, that cost Iraq and American citizens far more than they should ever have to pay.
Shame on Diane Sawyer and ABC World News. We have a fright to expect better of you.
You are helping spread propaganda on Iran, just as you did with Iraq, and see where that got us … in their oil fields and the killing of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides. When, if ever, will you and other major networks get the courage to give the public the “more honest” report. Ahhhhhh! Now I remember, you are owned by part of the Power Elite that are pulling the puppet strings. How could I forget. So onward, more killing, more dying, more lying. You are absolutely terrific and in line for more journalistic rewards on reporting … the ‘news’?
A note: some of the U.S. public is not stupid nor uninformed. But then again, that part of the public no longer watches your news network.
Adolphine Carole
New Mexico
Corporate toolbag
Diane Sawyer should be ashamed of herself for letting herself be used as a corporate tool to tighten the bolts that hold the ramshackle propaganda campaign against Iran together. Those who put her up to it have no shame. Iran is in a vise, only barely able to defend itself, and if the Iranians make any moves to improve their defenses, the corporations will have all the more â┚¬Ã…“reasonâ┚¬Ã‚ to initiate an attack. The purpose of the attack is the same as in Iraq, corporate control of the oil and gas supply coming from Iran. This is in no way a nationalist endeavor. Nations these days are mere proxies and mercenaries for the real world government, which is run by corporate heads in collusion with each other. Their mastery of propaganda is so complete that any public opinion can be changed by enough percentage points to support whatever they want to do, and what they want to do is always to their advantage, not for the public good. Israel will probably attack Iran. The US and EU will join in. The death toll in Iran will be minimized, and those who join the military to defend America will come home someday, maybe damaged, maybe dead, definitely different. Iran will be devastated and ruined for generations, but we will have oil and gas with which to raise the CO2 levels even farther, and the corporate heads and their fawning worshippers will have even more freedom.
Gregory Kruse
Illinois, USA
It is hard to argue honestly that the real escalation is coming from the Iranian side. But that’s why propaganda was created. Propaganda exists, but that does not mean ABC should use it.
ABC did its part by running footage of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visiting politicians the United States does not support: “Ahmadinejad recently traveled there, meeting leaders like Cesar Chavez of Venezuela and Fidel Castro who have little love from the U.S.” It is a very far stretch from visiting leaders of unfriendly governments to planning violence in the US.
ABC also illustrated the supposed Iranian threat with stock footage of weaponry and soldiers from an Iranian military parade–suggesting without spelling it out that viewers ought to feel threatened by the military force of marching soldiers and wheeled vehicles.
Am I wrong that journalists and newscasters have some responsibility to scrutinize the credibility of official allegations that are wholly lacking in evidence? When the bogus Iranian assassination plan on the Saudi ambassador was announced in October, virtually all major media (and thinking people in the world) so through this silly story. Please cut the disinformation campaign. The world has enough REAL problems without the media trying to create new ones.
I sent the blow comments to ABC:
After hearing about this outrageous lying report on Iran here:
“January 31 report on Iran failed to challenge official claims about the supposed threat from Iran. At a time of heightened tension, journalists should act to question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda.”
about Iran and its nuclear ambitions I feel compelled to raise Holy HELL at your part in the telling of lies and misinformation about Iran on a continual basis. STOP IT!! Just STOP IT! You bunch of liars. Just stop misleading the people to beat the corporate drum of infotainment. Give us real news with factual data or just STFU!! It is no wonder folks look to other sources for their real information. The MSM has become just a bunch of gov’t propagandists. Edward R Murrow would turn over in his grave if he could know what was going on with news today.
CLEAN UP YOUR ACT NOW!!!
For your information their are other news sources on Iran and Ahmadinejad, and the MSM, of which ABC is a major player is doing a grave disservice to the people of the world with their lies. I feel for those who have only the over the air broadcasts as their sources of news and information, they are out of luck, and have no idea what is happening in the world if that is all they get.
A**holes all of you, at NBC,CBS,ABC,FOX, the so called MSM!!
President Obama signed a document to put in place sanctions on Iran that is going to hurt the people there, just as the Iraq sanctions killed 500,000 kids. Iran is being made to look like the bogeyman, for Israel’s sake.
Leave Iran alone, for they have tried to be diplomatic with the US but have been rebuffed.
It has been reported that,
Flynt L. Leverett, now with Brookings and before a State Department and CIA official, listed three initiatives that were rejected.
Right after the Sept. 11 attacks, Iran offered to help Washington overthrow the Taliban. The U.S. declined the offer.
Second, in the spring of 2003, top Iranian officials sent the White House a detailed proposal for comprehensive negotiations to resolve questions regarding its weapons programs, relations with Hezbollah and Hamas and a Palestinian peace agreement with Israel. This proposal was rebuffed and ignored.
Third, in October 2003, European officials secured an agreement from Iran to suspend Iranian uranium enrichment and to pursue talks that Mr. Leverett said “might lead to an economic, nuclear and strategic deal.” The Bush administration “refused to join the European initiative, ensuring that the talks failed,” he added.
After all these peaceful attempts by Iran to join with the US in common peaceful goals:
“A few days ago, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Iran was developing a capability for making nuclear weapons someday but was not yet building a bomb. So why is the Obama Administration talking about a western boycott of Iran’s oil exports, so crucial to its faltering, sanctions-ridden economy? Is this latest sanction designed to squeeze Iranian civilians and lead to the overthrow of the regime? Arguably it may backfire and produce more support for the government.”
LEAVE IRAN THE F**K ALONE!!!
Dear Diane Sawyer and ABC World News,
The good people of America would appreciate if you actually performed the functions of journalism to which you pretend, instead of merely acting like stenographers for The White House, the State Department, the Defense Department or the CIA.
To see an example of fact-checking, and journalistic exercise, please refer to the following:
https://fair.org/index.php?page=4479
And by the way Diane Sawyer, if we end up going to war with Iran helped in part by your worthless ‘reporting’, will you, your colleagues and producers, and the executives at ABC be the first to sign your kids up to fight in this new front of endless war? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
This is the beautiful thing about the internet – what you refuse to provide, someone else will. And that makes you less and less relevant every day.
Subject: Concerning the horrible report regarding Iran attacking the US
WTF? That was the “evidence” you have? The sensationalism and lack of critical analysis (which was once assumed a hallmark of journalism) regarding this issue and report makes my stomach turn. Surely you realize the tremendous influence you have. Spreading such weakly substantiated “FEAR” could result in a war that kills hundreds of thousands of human beings, both American and Iranian. If this happens the blood of our sons will be on your sensationalistic and ignorant hands. THIS IS ALL JUST A BIG GAME TO YOU PEOPLE. Shame shame shame.
To Whom It May Concern,
ABCs World News Broadcast of Jan 31st took intelligence Director Clapper’s statement re Iran’s potential to launch a US attack, and rather than reviewing the facts and evidence, hyped his words.
The press has helped lead us into one recent war by sensationalizing rather than serious reporting. Please have a shred of journalistic integrity and work to uncover the truth and share it with the public. Otherwise, do not call yourselves reporters.
Hope you can live with the responsibility of innocent lives lost in another conflict based on your decision to do less than your job.
ON TONIGHT’S (2/3/12) ABC EVENING NEWS WITH DIANE SAWYER: “…Iran’s nuclear weapons program…” ~ Martha Raddatz (at 11:35 in the video below)
World News 2/3: Severe Midwest Blizzard
20:25 | Aired on ABC 02/03/12
Denver Snow Storm Grounds 600 Flights; Jobs Gained in January Lowers…
VIDEO – http://abcnews.go.com/watch/world-news-with-diane-sawyer/SH5585921/VD55168023/world-news-23-severe-midwest-blizzard
ALSO SEE – Exclusive: Israel Warns US Jews: Iran Could Strike Here http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/israel-warns-us-jews-iran-strike/story?id=15506257#.Tyx5RlwS01I
It’s always irked me when conservatives blather on about the “liberal” media. What they consider liberal, I consider skeptical. And that’s the media’s job — to be skeptical. It’s just ignorant that conservatives confuse the two terms. It’s also a threat to the 1st Amendment that they don’t seem to understand the true role of the media. Our visionary founding fathers were quite clear in stating the need for a free and independent press — one that ferrets out government corruption, and calls out politicians of every stripe when they speak untruths. Conservatives don’t complain when the media run stories questioning, for instance, a Democratic politician’s point of view. Only when a reporter expresses skepticism of a Republican politician’s claim, do conservatives shout “liberal media bias!” Oh and by the way (and I’m sure ABC News knows this), but the name of the president of Venezuela is Hugo, not Cesar, Chavez.
Dear Ms. Sawyer and ABC World News:
The only reasonable inference from the words you read on January 31 and other material your â┚¬Ã…“showâ┚¬Ã‚ offered must be that your network is functioning as a â┚¬Ã…“communication branchâ┚¬Ã‚ of the government of the United States of America.
Hyperbolic rhetoric may be a reasonable tactic to fan the flames of fear, hate and conflict but it will only lead to the loss of human life unnecessarily.
You and ABC World News are not unlike the pre-historic creatures caught in the La Brea Tar Pits. Slowly, most assuredly and inevitably you are sinking from the scene as not longer relevant or credible.
Goodbye.
Sincerely,
dennis hanna
– Putrid war propaganda from Diane Sawyer and Co. at ABC-Disney –
ABC January 31
I’ve been made aware of your black propaganda report on alleged Iranian threats towards the US.
The laundry list of allegations you reported have been debunked so many times in so many ways.
It never makes a lick of sense.
It’s just an insult to everybody’s intelligence.
This kind of disgusting jingoist output is an insult to humanity.
Eternal shame on ABC World News and its amoral corporate media ilk, you have brought and continue to bring so much suffering to the world through your ignorance and lies.
[name withheld]
To Whom It May Concern:
ABC’s January 31 report on Iran merely parroted claims made by government officials regarding the supposed military threat from Iran. ABC thereby failed to do actual journalism, which would have required ABC to challenge those official claims. Journalists should question official rhetoric–not generate propaganda; and ABC’s report on Iran was propaganda, not journalism.
I urge ABC to mend its ways and produce (and broadcast) a follow-up report that actually challenges the claims it parroted on January 31.
Sincerely
David J Smith, MA
Denver, CO
Leave Iran alone. DETERRENCE WORKS! India and Pakistan have not bombed each other. The US and the USSR did not bomb each other. Iran and Israel will not dare to use nuclear weapons. Israel can still attack their neighbors. Iran will not risk being destroyed.