Not P but Disinformation ?

[Thomas Eckhardt]

> Furthermore, the idea that "the US media" presents some 
>kind of monolithic, synchronized "propaganda narrative" is utter 
>bullshit, which should be obvious to anyone with working eyes, 
>ears, and a brain.

As far as the geopolitical imperatives of the
bipartisan war-party (e.g. McCain, Graham, Clinton, the
Neocons) are concerned, the Western mainstream media indeed present
an essentially monolithic and synchronized propaganda
narrative with very few, isolated exceptions. This should
be obvious to anyone with working eyes, ears, and a brain.

But I prefer to provide at least some arguments along with my 
opinionating...

So, what is Michael Gordon of the NYT up to
these days? Not reporting on Syria, I hope?

What is Fred Hiatt of the WP up to these days? Not writing
editorials in favour of military intervention in Syria, I
hope?

Fool me once etc.

A few relevant quotes from articles that I find interesting/agree with:

"If you wish to understand the degree to which a
supposedly free western media are constructing a world of
half-truths and deceptions to manipulate their audiences,
keeping us uninformed and pliant, then there could hardly
be a better case study than their treatment of Pulitzer
prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh.

All of these highly competitive, for-profit, scoop-seeking
media outlets separately took identical decisions: first
to reject Hersh’s latest investigative report, and then to
studiously ignore it once it was published in Germany last
Sunday. They have continued to maintain an absolute radio
silence on his revelations, even as over the past few days
they have given a great deal of attention to two stories
on the very issue Hersh’s investigation addresses.

(...)

[Hersh's revelations provide] an alternative narrative of
these events that one might have assumed would be of
intense interest to the media, given that Donald Trump
approved a military strike on Syria based on the official
narrative. Hersh’s version suggests that Trump acted
against the intelligence advice he received from his own
officials, in a highly dangerous move that not only
grossly violated international law but might have dragged
Assad’s main ally, Russia, into the fray. The Syrian arena
has the potential to trigger a serious confrontation
between the world’s two major nuclear powers."

http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2017-06-30/medias-propaganda-war-on-syria-in-full-flow/

'Mainstream American media outlets have willingly and
openly embraced a narrative provided by Al Qaeda
affiliates whose record of using chemical weapons in Syria
and distorting and manufacturing 'evidence' to promote
anti-Assad policies in the west, including regime change,
is well documented.  These outlets have made a deliberate
decision to endorse the view of Al Qaeda over a narrative
provided by Russian and Syrian government authorities
without any effort to fact check either position. These
actions, however, do not seem to shock the conscience of
the American public; when it comes to Syria, the
mainstream American media and its audience has long ago
ceded the narrative to Al Qaeda and other Islamist
anti-regime elements.'

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/syria-chemical-attack-al-qaeda-played-donald-trump_us_58ea226fe4b058f0a02fca4d

"All wars always produce phony atrocity stories – along
with real atrocities. But in the Syrian case fabricated
news and one-sided reporting have taken over the news
agenda to a degree probably not seen since the First World
War."

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n03/patrick-cockburn/who-supplies-the-news

"Coverage of the Syrian war will be remembered as one of
the most shameful episodes in the history of the American
press. Reporting about carnage in the ancient city of
Aleppo is the latest reason why."

https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/02/18/the-media-are-misleading-public-syria/8YB75otYirPzUCnlwaVtcK/story.html

I am not in a position to know this first-hand but suspect that RT can 
hardly be worse.


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Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l