Gareth Porter on Iran Deal, Mohamed Shehk on Prison Reform
The New York Times tells readers Barack Obama was moved to negotiate a deal with Iran because of his personal “faith in diplomacy.” Our guest has an alternate view.
Op-Ed Calls for War Are Incitements to a Terrible Crime
The literature that justifies or encourages war is not divorced from the responsibility for the cause of war itself.
Time Peddles Old Stereotypes With Op-Ed on Iranian ‘Carpet Merchants’
Time presents an op-ed by former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren that’s an extended analogy likening negotiating with Iran to dealing with a Middle Eastern rug merchant:
Papers’ Netanyahu Coverage Left Out Crucial Facts
Entirely absent from these articles was the fact that not only does Iran deny wanting to make a nuclear bomb, the intelligence agencies of the United States and Israel also doubt that Iran has an active nuclear weapons program.
Some Other Tall Tales Brian Williams Should Apologize For
NBC’s Brian Williams has exaggerated more than just his experiences in Iraq. He misreported other aspects of the War in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Ahmadinejad’s comments about nuclear power and other incidents.
Soundbites March 2015
Headlines include: “For CNN, Asperger’s Equals Madness,” “Chris Matthews Advocates ‘Rambo Stuff,'” “Relating to the Community With Automatic Weapons,” “Facts and Reality Are Two Different Things” on Iran and more!
The New York Times’ Nuclear Uncertainty Principles
When it comes to nuclear weapons, basic facts seem to be subject to political revision at the New York Times.
Washington Post Gets Iran Nukes Wrong–Again
In a March 20 article about a Hillary Clinton speech, the Washington Post reported that Iran is marching towards nuclear weapons–repeating an error the Post has had to correct at least two times already.
CNN’s Parade of Iran Hawks
CNN’s Sunday show offered a very one-sided discussion of the Iran nuclear deal–and some misinformation from host Candy Crowley.
What’s Missing From Time’s Iran Timeline
It’s not easy to summarize a half century of more of history, but the items selected by Time to represent key events in US/Iranian relations are more than a little curious.
Iran Nuclear Weapons Claims Still Need Correcting
Yesterday in USA Today (9/22/13), Aamer Madhani wrote this about the challenges facing Barack Obama: The president is also trying to take advantage of a diplomatic opening—created by the installation of a new, more moderate president in Iran—to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. As you might know by now, this is misleading; […]
Iran Has Space Program—Some See Crisis!
A well-respected research group posted a short article on its website about the location of a second launchpad for Iran’s space program. That’s not big news–but it can be made to sound like scary news in the New York Times.
After Ahmadinejad, Alarmism Still Reigns
With the surprise election (CNN, 6/15/13) of moderate pragmatist Hassan Rouhani as the next president of Iran, and the attendant departure of the West’s favorite bogeyman, outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from the political stage, U.S. elite media have had to rapidly adapt the collective narrative in order to maintain their alarmist depiction of the Islamic […]
What It Takes to Get a Reporter to Correct An Error
When Jeremy Scahill called out a CNN reporter for an error, she eventually corrected her mistake on the air. That’s good– and more outlets should be doing the same. Unfortunately the “non-correction correction” is more typical–or, as in the case of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, a media figure will simply ignore the issue.
CBS Gives Iran Nuclear Fearmongering a Voice
CBS Face the Nation gave Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu yet another chance to make dubious claims about the threats posed by Iran’s supposed weapons.
Nima Shirazi on Argo, Mitra Ebadolahi on Warrantless Spying
Argo won the Best Picture Academy Award. The film claims to be ‘based on’ the true story of the Iranian hostage crisis. But just how far removed is it from that true story, and why does it matter? We’ll hear from Nima Shirazi of the blog WideasleepinAmerica.
Also on the show: The Supreme Court has determined that the government doesn’t have to reveal who it’s targeting with its domestic spying programs, but civil liberties groups can’t challenge the spying because… they can’t prove they’ve been targeted. Mitra Ebadolahi of the ACLU’s National Security Project will explain.
Debunking the Debunkers of October Surprise
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from investigative reporter Robert Parry’s new book, America’s Stolen Narrative. One of the book’s storylines examines corporate media’s role in squelching investigation into whether Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaign in 1980 went behind President Jimmy Carter’s back to contact Iranian officials then holding 52 Americans hostage, a controversy dubbed the […]
SoundBites March 2013
If It Weren’t for Those Meddling Iranians “This demonstrates the ever pernicious Iranian meddling in other countries in the region.” —unnamed U.S. official complaining to Reuters (1/28/13) about Iran allegedly sending arms to Yemen, where the U.S. is conducting a secret drone war Extreme Weather, Unexplained NBC Nightly News (1/13/13) asked a serious question, […]
PBS and Iran’s ‘Nuclear Weapons’
In an October 22 discussion of the foreign policy presidential debate, the PBS NewsHour‘s Jeffrey Brown stated that “Iran’s nuclear weapons program has been a particular flash point.” A few weeks earlier (10/5/12) on the NewsHour, Ray Suarez said that Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez had continued to thwart American efforts on a range of international […]
NYT and Professor Netanyahu
Even stranger is the New York Times going on to point out that Iran’s uranium stockpile that could even be used for a weapon is getting smaller.
