Censorship and Propaganda From The Gulf War To Today

Share this

"I would say that the greatest threat to democracy right now in the United State is George Bush's casual use of propaganda, and sometimes lies, to advance his case against Iraq," Harper's publisher Rick MacArthur told Democracy Now's Amy Goodman. MacArthur is also author of "The Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War." Goodman asked MacArthur to revisit the elder Bush White House's control of the press corps during that administration's Persian Gulf War. Journalists then faced strict Pentagon control, including no freedom of movement and PR escorts at all times. According to MacArthur, major media did not protest the restrictions and many of the players from twelve years ago are still in the picture, including Dick Cheney and Colin Powell. Major media also failed to challenge a Hill & Knowlton run PR campaign for the astroturf organization Citizens for a Free Kuwait. The campaign is most remembered for promoting the fake story about Iraqi soldiers taking Kuwaiti babies out of incubators.