Why Jake Tapper Never Asks How We Pay for War
High-profile media brands like Jake Tapper simply do not view the expense of empire maintenance to be subject to critical analysis.
September 11’s Never-Ending Story
A retrospective look at FAIR’s coverage of two decades of media self-censorship, scapegoating and stenography.
‘Accountability to the People of Afghanistan Should Remain Our Focal Point’
“We need to begin the process of acknowledging US responsibility for the impact of the war, the devastation that the war brought to the people of Afghanistan.”
Media Rediscover Afghan Women Only When US Leaves
Media “discovered” Afghan women as the US angled for invasion; their interest returned with a vengeance as US troops exited the country.
Rumsfeld Remembered as ‘Complex,’ ‘Energetic’—Not as Killer of Multitudes
One thing you won’t find in corporate media obituaries of Donald Rumsfeld is any estimate of how many people died in the wars he was in charge of launching.
Media Applaud the New Cold Wars—but Could US Be More Aggressive, Please?
As it propagandized about the US supposedly fighting for democracy, coverage betrayed a total indifference to the potential costs of these hostilities.
It’s Aggression When ‘They’ Do It, but Defense When ‘We’ Do Worse
Western corporate media overwhelmingly reserve the word “aggression” for official enemy nations—whether or not it’s warranted. In contrast, US behavior is almost never categorized as aggressive,
‘Hale’s Crime Is Not Leaking Information, but Exposing Government Lies About the Drone Program’
“From the Pentagon Papers to the Drone Papers, the US government has sought to conceal the realities of its warmaking, and take from us our ability to make democratic choices about what our government is doing.”
Support the Tropes
Corporate media invoke the language of human rights and humanitarianism to convince those to the left of center to accept, if not support, US actions abroad.
Chip Gibbons on Drone Whistleblower Daniel Hale
Daniel Hale stands convicted of revealing things the US government didn’t want known about its drone warfare programs—the ones elite media have often presented as precise in separating “bad guys” from “innocents.”
Purging Inconvenient Facts in Coverage of Biden’s ‘First’ Air Attacks
The less clear the US population is about the frequency and scale of murderous violence its government carries out, the easier it is for the US ruling class to go about its wars. Fortunately for the US state, corporate media help manufacture collective amnesia by expunging US aggression from the record.
Humanitarian Imperialism
Media are experts in using progressives’ empathy and compassion against them, presenting them carefully selected images and stories of suffering around the world, and suggesting that US military power can be used to alleviate it.
‘Washington Has Been Asking the Wrong Question on North Korea’
“We need to shift our priorities now, from war to human needs. And in the case of Korea, a peace agreement would actually allow all parties to do that, so that all sides can start to reduce their arms.”
‘If Our Goal Is to Stop Killing Afghans, We’re Going About It All Wrong’
“There really isn’t any basis to say that continuing this war has any connection to protecting people in this country, to keeping Americans safe. There is no military solution to terrorism.”
Ending the Forever Wars: Phyllis Bennis on Afghanistan, Hyun Lee on Korea
Puzzling out what’s behind the “more war will lead to peace” argument in Afghanistan–and listening to people in North and South Korea who seek an end to the militarized tension they’ve lived under for more than 70 years.
‘US Leadership’—and Other Euphemisms for War
Joe Biden doesn’t become president for a month and a half, but already sections of the corporate media are calling on him to use US power to dominate the world.
‘Trump Has Let the Military Establishment Do Everything It Wants to Do’
“Historically, siege was considered an act of war; to undertake a siege against a foreign population was considered an act of war. And these sanctions are basically a form of siege against a civilian population, to extort some sort of political goal from their leadership.”
‘Muscular’ Foreign Policy: Media Codeword for Violence Abroad
Words like “muscular” and “robust” are all too regularly used as euphemisms to sugarcoat inflicting violence around the world.
Politico Worries Arms Industry Endorsement of Biden Might Cause Problems — for Arms Industry
Election Focus 2020: The obvious questions the endorsement raises are how it might influence Biden’s military policy, and perhaps whether such an endorsement would be demotivating for antiwar voters in Biden’s voter base.
For Politico, ‘Objectivity’ Means Asking Only Arms Industry Sources About an Arms Industry Endorsement
Election Focus 2020: The obvious questions the endorsement raises are how it might influence Biden’s military policy, and perhaps whether such an endorsement would be demotivating for antiwar voters in Biden’s voter base.
