Pro War Media Coverage of Iraq Invasion.

Many experts believe that numerous outlets of the US mainstream media were bias in their reporting of the war in Iraq, contributing to widespread public belief that it was, in fact, a just war.

Several mainstream media outlets have been critiscised for their attention to 'positive' events such as the staged toppling of a statue of Saddam Hussein in Fridos Square .

It is believed that 'negative' aspects such as the 100,000-650,000 Iraqui civillian causalties were deliberately underreported in an effort to portray the war as 'just' to the American people and paint Iraqis as the enemy.

US military causalties were downplayed by the Bush administration's ban on the release of photographs of soldiers killed in action during the invasion.1 This tactic led to the false notion that casualties were low and more troops should be sent to Iraq to aid the war effort.

Fox News, America's most popular network, is widely believed to have been bias in its reporting on the war due to owner Rupert Murdoch's strong pro-war beliefs.

Fox led its viewers to believe the US was fighting a just war and conducting an 'humanitarian intervention' on behalf of the Iraqi people by including a waving flag animation in the corner of the screen during war reports next to the headline 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'.2



Above: The Fox News 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' flag.

The MSNBC network has also been criticised for its inclusion of a segment called 'America's Bravest', which glamourised the idea of war and 'fighting for freedom' by showing photos sent by family members of troops in Iraq.

Below: An 'America's Bravest' tribute to war hero Robert Howard.3


At least three reporters were fired due to their actions while reporting on the Iraq war:

* Peter Arnett, NBC and National Geographic Correspondent was fired for stating in an interview that the US's 'first war plan had failed' due to the resistance of Iraqi forces. Arnett was then hired by Britain's Daily Mirror- who wrote on their webpage banner 'fired by America for telling the truth ... hired by Daily Mirror to carry on telling it'

*Fox Presenter Geraldo Rivera was forced to leave Iraq after revealing US military tactics and troop movements by drawing a map in the sand for viewers.

Below: The original footage has been banned by Fox. Have a look at a comedic take on the Fox report instead.4




* Los Angeles Times reporter Brian Walski was fired for altering a photograph of a US soldier warning Iraqi civilians to take cover

Below: The lower image is a doctored version of the original (above). It was edited to suggest the soldier was compassionately directing refugees to take cover.The image ran on the front cover of the Los Angeles Times.5




A 2003 Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) study found that 57% of mainstream broadcast viewers believed the false justification of war that Iraq was a supporter of Al-Queda or was directly involved in the 9/11 attacks. 69% of respondents believed the false accusation of Saddam Hussein's involvement in September 11 and a further 22% believed that weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq. 80% of Fox News viewers believed these misconceptions, supporting the accusation of the network for being biased and wrongly promoting the invasion as being 'just'.6

References:
1."Pentagon: Families Want Photo Ban." CBS News 23, Apr,2004 Web. 6 Jun 2011.
2.Rutenberg, Jim. "Cable's War Coverage Suggests a New 'Fox Effect' on Television." Common Dreams.org 16, Apr, 2003 Web. 6 Jun 2011. .

3."Robert Howard- An American Hero." YouTube. Web. 6 Jun 2011. .

4."Spoof on Geraldo Rivera giving away troop locations in Iraq." YouTube. Web. 6 Jun 2011. .

5."Photo Ethics." Sree.net 22,Nov, 2005:Web. 6 Jun 2011. .

6.Rendall, Steve. "Amplifying Officials, Squelching Dissent." Extra! (FAIR) 2003 Web. 6 Jun 2011. .