Propaganda

Lack Of Dead Bodies On TV "PR Coup"

by Laura Miller — April 10, 2003 - 11:00pm

"As the war seemingly comes to an end with US troops in the centre of Baghdad, the propaganda war from both sides has become even more desperate," writes Charles Whelan, a former New Labour flack, for PR Week's UK edition. "The Iraqi minister for information has had a job to do made more difficult by the hour. The poor man was forced into making statements at his daily press briefing about how the brave Iraqi troops had expelled the Americans from Saddam Hussein Airport.

Main Source: 
PR Week (UK), April 11, 2003

Historic Moment or Staged Publicity Shot?

by John Stauber — April 9, 2003 - 11:00pm

"One of the ' HREF="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-04-09-statue-flag_x.htm"
target="_blank">most memorable images of the war' is created when U.S. troops pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Fardus Square. ... The entire event is being hailed as an equivalent of the Berlin Wall falling...

Main Source: 
Information Clearing House website, April 10, 2003

"It's The Policy, Stupid"

by Laura Miller — April 7, 2003 - 11:00pm

"The front line in the war for hearts and minds in the Arab world and
beyond is here, at the U.S. Central Command headquarters and media
center," writes the New York Times' Nicholas Kristof from Doha, Qatar. Kristof gives the Bush administration credit for reaching out to the foreign press, noting that Al Jazeera was assigned a front row seat for press briefings while the Times was in the second row. But he suggests international journalists see through the spin.

"This is propaganda," a Chinese journalist told Kristof at a U.S. military briefing in Doha.

Main Source: 
New York Times, April 8, 2003

Dealing With The Truth

by Laura Miller — April 6, 2003 - 11:00pm

"The Office of Global Communications, a controversial agency created by President Bush in January, has blossomed into a huge production company, issuing daily scripts on the Iraq war to U.S. spokesmen around the world, auditioning generals to give media briefings and booking administration stars on foreign news shows," the Chicago Tribune's Bob Kemper reports. "The communications office helps devise and coordinate each day's talking points on the war.

Main Source: 
Chicago Tribune, April 7, 2003

Propaganda Points

by Sheldon Rampton — April 6, 2003 - 12:00am

"If till now the coalition forces have been the ones surprised by the apathy of the Iraqi population and the cool welcome given them, apparently it is now Saddam Hussein's turn to be surprised," writes Zvi Bar'el. "The initial pictures from the battle for Baghdad show Iraqi citizens starting to wave cautiously to the U.S. and British soldiers bearing down on the capital.

Main Source: 
Ha'aretz (Israel), April 6, 2003

War Is a Rich Time for Students of Propaganda

by John Stauber — April 4, 2003 - 12:00am

PR Week commentator Paul Holmes writes that "the 'embedding' of reporters in military units is the most brilliant
strategic decision of this entire campaign, since its effect appears to
be the transformation of usually intelligent reporters into Pentagon
[Public Relations Officers]. As someone in the administration obviously realised, it's hard to
hold on to journalistic integrity when you're dependent for continued
survival on the people you're supposed to be covering. ... Then there's the brand name for this conflict: Operation Iraqi Freedom. ...

Main Source: 
British Edition of PR Week, April 4, 2003

Propaganda's Diminishing Half-Life

by Laura Miller — April 1, 2003 - 12:00am

"In the good old days, the US used to tell a lie -- crass propaganda -- and it would stick for a long time. Journalists would have to scurry for months before they could expose the lies, but by then it would be almost irrelevant," writes London-based economist Paul de Rooij
for PalestineChronicle.com. "In the run up to the US-Iraq war, it became increasingly evident that propaganda has a diminished half-life. ... As soon as a propaganda ploy has been exposed, the current media spinners will move to the next tall story.

Main Source: 
PalestineChronicle.com, April 1, 2003

An Army of Propaganda

by John Stauber — March 31, 2003 - 12:00am

"It's no coincidence that Americans, and others around the world, are echoing the exact same phrases and news bites at the same times with near-military precision. It's the result of a slickly orchestrated public relations campaign on the part of the military and the U.S. government that is borrowing the best practices of the corporate PR world. ... The PR industry, as many may know, was actually started by the military during World War I, when persuasive techniques were developed to recruit soldiers.

Main Source: 
AlterNet, March 31, 2003

The "Information Operations" War in Iraq

by John Stauber — March 26, 2003 - 12:00am

"Bush planners appear to have left television off the
initial [bombing] target list because they wanted to use it to
administer Iraq immediately after the war and to limit the
damage to civilian infrastructure. Reports from Iraq, however, suggest that the American
restraint was seen by many Iraqis as an indication of Mr.
Hussein's resilience, undermining the allied message that
his days were numbered. There are, in fact, two parallel battles underway. One is
the intense assault American forces are mounting to set
themselves up for a drive to Baghdad to overthrow the
Saddam Hussein regime.

Main Source: 
New York Times, March 26, 2003

Who Lied to Whom About Iraq's Nuclear Program?

by John Stauber — March 24, 2003 - 12:00am

Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh asks, "Why did the Administration endorse a forgery about Iraq's nuclear program?" How did the misinformation end up in the President's State of the Union address, and who has been fooling whom to make sure the US attacked Iraq?

Main Source: 
The New Yorker, March 24, 2003
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