Viewers and readers of mainstream media outlets this week might assume America is on the brink of World War III. Of course, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, President Trump’s actions in Iran proved to be critical in re-establishing American deterrence.
Nevertheless, journalists and mainstream media outlets did their best to conjure reports of apocalyptic, World World III level threats, and to place blame for their causes at the feet of Trump.
Here are five times, just this week, the mainstream media completely botched the coverage of both Trump’s work in Iran and the killing of terrorist Quds force leader Qasem Soleimani.
1. Calling Soleimani’s Death An “Assassination”
In 2011, when Obama took out al-Queda terrorist Osama bin Laden, his death was celebrated in the United States. After all, he was the mastermind behind the horrific 9/11 attacks in New York City. But, in 2020, when Trump took out Quds force terrorist leader Soleimani, the New York Times decided to deem his death as an “assassination.”
The Boston Globe published an op-ed making the case that the US killed bin Laden, but assassinated Soleimani.
2. Soleimani Was A “Revered Military Figure.”
According to the Washington Post, the best way to label the brutal terrorist Soleimani is to highlight his military ranking. The Washington Post referred to Soleimani as a “revered military figure.”
The New Yorker published a eulogy reflecting on the violent terrorist days as a strapping, young bodybuilder.
“Sulemani, a flamboyant former construction worker and bodybuilder with snowy white hair, a dapper beard and arching salt-and-pepper eyebrows, gained notice during the eight-year war with Iraq, in the nineteen eighties,” the New Yorker reads.
3. U.S. Coverage Runs With Propaganda From Iranian State-Run Media
Mainstream media coverage highlighted commentary from Democrats who called what Trump did to Soleimani an “act of war” despite military intelligence of attacks that Soleimani was planning against the US. Media parroted this talking point, saying that Trump is escalating an already tense situation into war. This talking point come from the authoritarian, government-run news media in Iran.
Media reports shared the Iranian narrative that Iranian citizens were saddened by the death of Soleimani. NBC News showcased the “huge crowds” that turned out to allegedly mourn Soleimani’s death. CNN also reported, “crowds swarm[ed] Tehran to mourn slain Iran military leader Soleimani.” These reports conveniently omit the fact that most of this crowd was forced to attend Soleimani’s mourning.
One Iranian journalist, Masih Alinejad wrote that the government forced students and officials to attending Soleimani’s funeral by busing students in and ordering businesses closed. “According to videos sent to me by people inside the country, the authorities are making little kids write essays praising the fallen commander. First-graders who didn’t know how to write were encouraged to cry for Soleimani.”
4. World War III Is Looming
CBN News reported, the U.S.-Iran showdown has left some wondering, will we have World War III? In fact, the media’s affect on U.S. citizens was so prominent that the Selective Service’s website actually crashed.
“Due to the spread of misinformation, our website is experiencing high traffic volumes at this time. If you are attempting to register or verify registration, please check back later today as we are working to resolve this issue,” the Selective Service Twitter account said.
Due to the spread of misinformation, our website is experiencing high traffic volumes at this time. If you are attempting to register or verify registration, please check back later today as we are working to resolve this issue. We appreciate your patience.
— Selective Service (@SSS_gov) January 3, 2020
5. Media Reported Iraq Government Voted To Expel U.S. Troops
Media outlets reported that the Iraqi government voted to expel United States troops from Iraq.
“On Friday, Iraq’s caretaker prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said that he had asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send a delegation to Iraq that could establish a plan for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country,” reported the Washington Post.
In reality, Iraq’s prime minister resigned in December due to Iraqi protests stating the Mahdi government was controlled by Iran. The majority in the Iraqi government is Shiite controlled, and considered anti-American, where as the minority Sunni and Kurd populations have a more favorable sentiment towards U.S. troops. The Sunni and Kurd MPs in the Iraqi government actually boycotted the vote designed to expel U.S. troops.
The vote was also non-binding, but that wasn’t fitting to the mainstream media narrative, which left that fact often omitted.
6. MSNBC Falsely Reported American Casualties
After the U.S. killed Soleimani, Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles at Iraqi air bases which housed U.S. troops. There were no American or Iraqi casualties from these missiles. This didn’t stop MSNBC from falsely reporting Iranian propaganda that 30 Americans were killed from the missiles.
“Iran’s state media is claiming that 30 U.S. solider have been killed in this attack,” said MSNBC’s Ali Arouzi.
MSNBC aired Iran state media’s false claim that 30 U.S. soldiers had been killed tonight pic.twitter.com/DnEkMq3x7f
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) January 8, 2020
