BBC Caught In Mass Public Deception With Iran Propaganda
by Paul Joseph Watson, Infowars, 18 June 2009
The BBC has again been caught engaging in mass public deception by using photographs of pro-Ahmadinejad rallies in Iran and claiming they represent anti-government protests in favor of Hossein Mousavi.
An image used by the L.A. Times on the front page of its website Tuesday showed Iranian President Ahmadinejad waving to a crowd of supporters at a public event.
In a story covering the election protests yesterday, the BBC News website used a closer shot of the same scene, but with Ahmadinejad cut out of the frame. The caption under the photograph read, ‘Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi again defied a ban on protests’.
The BBC photograph is clearly a similar shot of the same pro-Ahmadinejad rally featured in the L.A. Times image, yet the caption erroneously claims it represents anti-Ahmadinejad protesters.
“Well I guess it sure was a popular fictional rally for Mousavi, because I later noticed while browsing the news sites a familiar picture on the BBC’s lead Iran story - it shows the same crowd, zoomed in to cut out Ahmadinejad,” a reader told the WhatReallyHappened website. “It is clearly the same protest as in the background are the same tree and odd circular building. However, the BBC managed to outdo the LA times in quality reporting - their actual comment under the photo from the huge PRO-Ahmadinejad rally reads ‘Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi again defied a ban on protests’ - a blatant lie and deliberately misleading description of what is actually occurring in Iran!”
As soon as the truth about the misrepresented images surfaced on the WhatReallyHappened website yesterday, the BBC changed the photo caption on their original article.
This is not the first time the BBC has been caught red-handed using crude image and video framing techniques for the purposes of political propaganda.
During the fall of Baghdad in April 2003, the BBC and other mainstream news outlets broadcast closely framed footage of the “mass uprising” during which Iraqis, aided by U.S. troops, toppled the Saddam Hussein statue in Fardus Square.
The closely framed footage was used to imply that hundreds or thousands of Iraqis were involved in a Berlin Wall-style “historic” liberation, yet when wide angle shots were later published on the Internet, footage that was never broadcast on live television, the reality of the “mass uprising” became clear. The crowd around the statue was sparse and consisted mostly of U.S. troops and journalists. The BBC later had to admit that only “dozens” of Iraqis had participated in toppling the statue. The entire scene was a manufactured farce yet the propaganda technique of blocking wide-angle shots from being broadcast convinced the world that the event represented a triumphant and historic mass popular uprising on behalf of the Iraqi people.
Whatever your views on the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad and the accuracy of the Iranian election results, the fact that the Anglo-American establishment and its media organs are exploiting and fanning the flames of chaos in Iran to provoke further instability is unquestionable.
Indeed, the U.S. State Department, which routinely demonizes the Internet as a tool of extremists and terrorists when it is used to criticize U.S. foreign policy, took the unprecedented step today of requesting that Twitter.com “delay planned maintenance work so that Iranian protesters can continue to use it to post images and reports of unrest,” according to a London Times report.
link:
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Dishonest reporting by the BBC: An open letter to the Press Complaints Commission
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Attn: Mr Simon Yip
Press Complaints Commission
Halton House
20/23 Holborn
London
EC1N 2JD
Ref: BBC: Deliberate deception and Propaganda
Dear Mr Yip,
I have written to you on previous occasions with complaints about widespread bias in press reporting in general and the ongoing deception of the British public (and the general public of the western world at large for that matter) in political matters by a now globally and privately controlled media. I have also expressed the view that the scope of the provisions of the Code of Practice and terms of reference of the PCC are far too narrow to ensure that the media fulfils its most valuable function – that of informing and facilitating a healthy democracy - and that the PCC should be the primary force at work to address this problem.
The reporting of the current crisis in Iran is an extreme case of this problem. There is a clear intention in western reporting of the situation to inflame unrest within Iran and to discredit the Iranian political system. Open discussion of the prospect of destabilizing the government and the possibility of revolution in a situation of unrest within Britain would be unthinkable. The hypocrisy of engaging in such speculations about another country only accentuates the abject failure of our media to responsibly and properly perform its function of providing information objectively and truthfully as is essential for a healthy democracy.
However, as this is a matter “out of scope” for the PCC I can only mention it as context for my specific complaint against the BBC in relation to this clear and obvious case of willfully dishonest reporting. You will find the full details of the matter at:
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In summary, the issue is this:
The BBC has used a photograph of a public rally in Iran and presented it as a pro-Mousavi demonstration in protest of the election and in defiance of a ban on demonstrations.
The photograph is in fact a cut–down version of a photograph published in the LA Times in a story about a pro-Ahmadinejad rally. It is the same photograph! In the BBC version the frame has been cropped to exclude Ahmadinejad and include only the crowd.
I feel that the PCC should investigate the facts of this matter to confirm for yourselves that this is a clear and deliberate deception of the public, a betrayal of public trust and a demonstration of complete lack of integrity in reporting on the part of the BBC.
I also believe that this dishonest report should be traced to those responsible and steps taken to ensure that they are removed from positions in which their irresponsible actions pose a risk to the health of British democracy and international relations.
Yours Sincerely,
Allen L. Jasson
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Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
Tehran - Athens.. does'nt matter ...
22.06.2009 09:06
gr
FLASHBACK: Imperial Disinformation: The Guardian's Iran/Iraq Coverage
22.06.2009 09:26
On 22nd May, 2007, the front page of The Guardian was taken up by pro-war propaganda, designed to prepare public opinion to accept that war with Iran is an inevitable next step in the Anglo-American 'war on terror'. Simon Tisdall's high-profile piece claimed that Iran has secret plans to do nothing less than wage war on, and defeat, American and British forces in Iraq by August.
Last February, Indymedia UK published a feature on MI6 Iran disinformation being run by The Telegraph and the BBC [ 1 | 2 ], "the British mainstream media are now reflexively boosting the US claim that Iran presents a threat to the West". The feature also contains more details about the looming war and what it's really about.
link to the original post:
repost
Commercial spam
22.06.2009 09:33
Aghast
I think I get your drift...
22.06.2009 10:38
watcher
Cock-up
22.06.2009 13:29
The easiest thing to check, is, of course, is to go to the source: Getty images.
Here's its caption for the contentious photo.
"TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 16: People attend a state-organised rally in a square June 16, 2009 in central Tehran, Iran.Thousands attended a rally organized by Iran's clerical regime. Iran banned foreign media from covering rallies in the country and Iran's Guardian Council reportedly said that they would recount some of the votes in presidential election that critics say was unfairly won by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinehjad. (Photo by Getty Images)"
Now, the BBC has clearly messed up on this one - and been caught out. But this pic was among about 100 showing actual anti-election protests, so it's still highly possible it was a cock-up not a conspiracy.
It's also interesting that it looks like the same square was used for an anti-election protest two days later...
"TEHRAN, IRAN - JUNE 18: Iranian supporters of defeated reformist presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi demonstrate on June 18, 2009 in Tehran, Iran. Thousands of people have continued to protest in the streets of Tehran today during a day of mourning for the eight people killed in Monday's protests. Iran has banned foreign media from covering rallies in the country and Iran's Guardian Council reportedly said that they would recount some of the votes in presidential election that critics say was unfairly won by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinehjad. (Photo by Getty Images)"
Norvello
Evidence of long-term US involvement
22.06.2009 15:39
How Rice and USA in 2006 invested in bringing about the current election chaos in Iran
Now popularly referred to in Iran as- ‘The Gucci Bag revolution‘, this article by the Boston Globe in 2006 gives a full and detailed report on a plan and program that very well brought on the current series of turbulent events in Iran.
Condoleezza Rice testified on aiding Iran democracy efforts before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (Carol T. Powers/ Bloomberg News)
*Related: Riots in Iran; terrorist bomb blast at most holy mausoleum
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Rice wants funds for democracy initiative in Iran
By Farah Stockman, Globe Staff | February 16, 2006 Boston Globe
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked Congress yesterday to fund a sweeping initiative to promote democracy inside Iran that would expand satellite broadcasts to enable Washington to ”engage” directly with the Iranian people. The initiative also would lift US restrictions to allow US funding for Iranian trade unions, political dissidents, and nongovernmental organizations.
The new request, which was made yesterday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Bush’s foreign affairs budget, would increase spending on democracy programs for Iran this year from $10 million to $85 million.
Rice announced the initiative as Washington steps up pressure on the hard-line regime in Tehran over its nuclear program, which Washington suspects is geared toward producing a nuclear weapon.
”We find it in our interest now . . . to see if we can’t engage the Iranian population,” Rice told the senators. ”In some ways, you could argue that they need it even more now because they are being isolated by their own regime.”
Senators did not respond to the request, but both Republicans and Democrats peppered Rice with tough questions about the administration’s policy of supporting democracy at a time when Islamic hardliners have won elections across the Middle East.
The initiative could be a boon to a New Haven human rights group, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, which last year received about one-third of the $3.5 million that the State Department spent on promoting democracy in Iran.
Yesterday, a senior State Department official briefing the press on the new effort acknowledged that it will be dangerous for Iranian groups to accept funding from the United States and that activists could be killed or imprisoned for doing so.
The official said the lion’s share of the democracy money would therefore go to groups outside Iran that maintain discreet contacts inside the country, but that the State Department was prepared to have direct contact and funding links with eligible groups inside Iran. She said much of the work would go on in secret to protect the identities of Iranian activists.
”We don’t have blinders on,” she said. ”We don’t want to hurt the people we are trying to help.”
State Department officials at yesterday’s briefing stopped short of calling for regime change in Iran, but talked of a desire to foment internal drives for massive political change, similar to movements in Ukraine and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where US funds paid for media and civil society outreach. But they said they would not support opposition groups, a limitation that would disqualify many Iranian exile organizations.
Ramesh Setehrrad, president of the National Committee of Women for a Democratic Iran, an advocacy group in Washington, said the administration would have a hard time finding organizations to fund if it rejected the political opposition in exile, most of which is associated with the Mujaheddeen Khalq, which the State Department considers a terrorist organization, or with monarchists associated with the late shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi.
”There is nothing left as far as the opposition is concerned,” Setehrrad said. She called the move a ‘’step in the right direction,” but said it would be inadequate until Washington decided to openly support the political opposition. Rice’s initiative by itself ”will not bring the regime down and will not weaken the regime’s grip on power,” she said.
Rice’s initiative also met skepticism from regional specialists who said that the US democracy initiative could cause some in Iran to feel the United States is meddling in its internal affairs, and inflame nationalist feelings that are already bolstering popular support for Tehran’s nuclear program.
”I don’t think it will help democracy, and I don’t think it will solve the Iran issue,” said Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Rice’s package for democracy would provide an extra $50 million to broadcast programming into Iran in the hopes that a significant number of Iranians will be able to get it via satellite dishes, which are common despite being banned.
Some of the money would go to expand the Persian-language service of Radio Farda, a joint venture between Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Liberty, which now runs only four hours per day.
State Department officials have traveled to Los Angeles, home to a large Iranian community and nearly two dozen Persian-language television stations, to vet other groups that could broadcast in Persian, officials said yesterday.
An additional $15 million in funds would go to US organizations that would support Iranian labor unions and civic activities, and to fund Iranian groups.
Another $5 million would expand educational exchanges with Iranian students, and $5 million more would expand efforts to reach out to Iranians with the Internet and instant messaging.
The money represents a significant jump from last year, when the State Department set aside only $3.5 million for democracy promotion in Iran, a small portion of the $48 million that the administration earmarked for its democracy fund. Of that, $1 million went to support the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.
That center was formed to help create a historical record of human rights abuses in Iran since the 1979 revolution. The group’s board of directors includes Owen Fiss, a Yale University professor, and Reza Afshari, a history professor at Pace University in New York.
The new proposal for Iran is far more ambitious, but its impact may be unclear.
Alireza Morovati, CEO of KRSI, a Persian-language radio station, said it is impossible to know how many listeners he has in Iran.
Morovati also said that many of the Persian-language television and radio stations are being jammed by the Iranian regime. He said his station has never received, and has never asked for, US funding in its 17 years of existence.
Yesterday, both Republican and Democratic senators alike grilled Rice on the administration’s track record of promoting democracy in the Middle East, after the election of Islamic extremists in Egypt, Iran, and the Palestinian territories.
Barbara Boxer, a Democrat from California, had a testy exchange with Rice in which she asked:
”Do you agree that nations throughout the world are electing more negative candidates who run against America?”
”I don’t see, Madame Secretary, how things are getting better,” said Senator Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican.
”I think things are getting worse. I think they’re getting worse in Iraq. I think they’re getting worse in Iran.”
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company. source- Boston Globe
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*Related:
Riots in Iran; terrorist bomb blast at most holy mausoleum
Ahmadinejad Wins Iran Elections With Landslide
anybody
Justice for Workers in Iran, down to anti-women islamic rule
23.06.2009 09:57
1. Majority of people in Iran are seeking the real change.
2. They seek better life with no fear of Islamic rules, the rules that oppresses women and the main enemy of civil liberty and civil right.
3. Islamic regime during the last 30 years has executed more than 100,000 Left activist and freedom lovers and thousand women been killed by stoning in public.
4. Election and its fraudulence result is just a tool to show people’s anger against the whole tyrant and barbaric Islamic regime.
5. If youth and people do not rise their own flag, the flag of revolution to change the whole regime, their 30 years of struggle against political islam, their daily fight and their energy will be hijacked by one wing of the regime.
6. People’s demand are: Secularism, Freedom with no conditions, free all political prisoners, equal right for women, End the forced hejab law, freedom of organisation for workers.
7. People should change their slogan to [ down to the Islamic regime] [ no to hejab ] [ freedom and social justice] [ full employment and rise of minimum wage]
Long live Freedom, Long live equality , down to Islamic rules , long live civil liberty and civil right
There is a daily struggle by workers and progressive activist for recognition of the Workers rights,– Justice for Iranian workers – to include the human rights of all Iranians who have been deprived of their rights.
BetterLife@BetterWorld
e-mail:
kawah2000@gmail.com
Homepage:
http://betterLife@BetterWorld.com