Tell Me Lies : Propaganda and Media Distortion in the Attack on Iraq

Did the US and UK governments lie about weapons of mass destruction to promote an attack on Iraq? Did the media hold them to account or act as cheerleaders for war? Tell me Lies reveals the systematic propaganda used by both the US and UK governments to convince us of the'threat'from Iraq. It shows how we were deliberately misled into a war that has resulted in a humanitarian disaster in Iraq and threatens to create further instability and resentment of the US and UK throughout the Middle East. Written by some of the world's leading journalists and commentators, it's a scathing indictment of the role of the mainstream media in legitimising government actions and undermining dissent. Critics, activists and journalists from both sides of the Atlantic explore alternatives such as the internet and Al Jazeera and provide analysis and guidance on resisting the media war. Contributors include John Pilger, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Edward Herman, Mark Thomas, Mark Steel, and cartoonist Steve Bell amongst many others. What Did The Media Tell Us In The Run Up To War On Iraq? Was It All True? Where Are The Weapons Of Mass Destruction? This Book Is For Everyone Who Is Appalled By The Duplicity And Misinformation Churned Out By The Media In The Lead Up To War With Iraq, And In Its Long And Continuing Aftermath. A Great Betrayal ; The Lies Of Old ; The Case For Civil Disobedience ; Crime Against Humanity ; The Unthinkable Is Becoming Normal / John Pilger -- War Is Sell / Laura Miller, John Stauber And Sheldon Rampton -- Brainscrubbing: The Failures Of U.s. Public Diplomacy After 9/11 / Nancy Snow -- Misreporting War Has A Long History / Des Freedman -- Psychological Warfare Against The Public: Iraq And Beyond / Mark Curtis -- The Propaganda Machine / David Miller -- History Or Bunkum? / Philip Knightley -- Spies And Lies / Stephen Dorril -- No Blood For Oil? / Andy Rowell. The Minute It's Made Up, You'll Hear About It / Mark Steel -- Reporting The War On British Television / Justin Lewis And Rod Brookes -- 9/11, Spectacles Of Terror, And Media Manipulation / Douglas Kellner -- Look, I'm An American / Norman Solomon -- Let The Atrocious Images Haunt Us / Julian Petley -- Normalising Godfatherly Aggression / Edward Herman -- Little Ali And Other Rescued Children / Patricia Holland. Watchdogs Or Lapdogs?: Media, Politics, And Regulation: The Us Experience / Granville Williams -- The Bbc: A Personal Account / Abdul Hadi Jiad -- Mass Deception: How The Media Helped The Government Deceive The People / David Edwards And David Cromwell -- Covering The Middle East: An Interview With Robert Fisk -- Why The Bbc Ducks The Palestinian Story / Tim Llewellyn. Black Holes Of History: Public Understanding And The Shaping Of Our Past / Greg Philo And Maureen Gilmour -- Al Jazeera's War / Faisal Bodi -- Target The Media / Tim Gopsill -- Turning My Back On The Mainstream / Yvonne Ridley -- Inside The System: Anti-war Activism In The Media / David Crouch -- Disruptive Technology: Iraq And The Internet / Alistair Alexander -- The Anti-war Movement: Noam Chomsky Interviewed By Matthew Tempest. Edited By David Miller. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 4 Introduction......Page 10 Part I: The Media War......Page 22 1. A great betrayal......Page 24 2. The lies of old......Page 27 3. The case for civil disobedience......Page 32 4. Crime against humanity......Page 38 5. The unthinkable is becoming normal......Page 43 Part II: Propaganda Wars......Page 48 6. War is sell......Page 50 7. Brainscrubbing: the failures of US public diplomacy after 9/ 11......Page 61 8. Misreporting war has a long history......Page 72 9. Psychological warfare against the public: Iraq and beyond......Page 79 10. The propaganda machine......Page 89 11. History or bunkum?......Page 109 12. Spies and lies......Page 117 13. No blood for oil?......Page 124 Part III: Misreporting War......Page 136 14. The minute it's made up, you'll hear about it......Page 138 15. Reporting the war on British television......Page 141 16. 9/ 11, spectacles of terror, and media manipulation......Page 153 17. Look, I'm an American......Page 166 18. Let the atrocious images haunt us......Page 173 19. Normalising godfatherly aggression......Page 185 20. Little Ali and other rescued children......Page 194 21. Watchdogs or lapdogs? Media, politics and regulation: the US experience......Page 204 22. The BBC: a personal account......Page 213 23. Mass deception: how the media helped the government deceive the people......Page 219 24. Covering the Middle East......Page 224 25. Why the BBC ducks the Palestinian story......Page 231 26. Black holes of history: public understanding and the shaping of our past......Page 241 Part IV: Alternatives......Page 250 27. Al Jazeera's war......Page 252 28. Target the media......Page 260 29. Turning my back on the mainstream......Page 271 30. Inside the system: anti- war activism in the media......Page 278 31. Disruptive technology: Iraq and the internet......Page 286 32. The anti- war movement......Page 295 Notes on contributors......Page 302 Index......Page 307

Did the US and UK governments lie about weapons of mass destruction to promote an attack on Iraq? Did the media hold them to account or act as cheerleaders for war? Tell me Lies reveals the systematic propaganda used by both the US and UK governments to convince us of the 'threat' from Iraq. It shows how we were deliberately misled into a war that has resulted in a humanitarian disaster in Iraq and threatens to create further instability and resentment of the US and UK throughout the Middle East. Written by some of the world's leading journalists and commentators, it's a scathing indictment of the role of the mainstream media in legitimising government actions and undermining dissent. Critics, activists and journalists from both sides of the Atlantic explore alternatives such as the internet and Al Jazeera and provide analysis and guidance on resisting the media war. Contributors include John Pilger, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, Edward Herman, Mark Thomas, Mark Steel, Phillip Knightley, Tim Llewelyn (BBC Middle East Correspondent), Abdul Hadi Jiad (Iraqi journalist sacked by the BBC before the war), David Cromwell and David Edwards (Media Lens), Mark Curtis, John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton (PR Watch, and co-authors of Weapons of Mass Deception and Toxic Sludge is Good For You), Pat Holland, Norman Solomon (columnist and director of the Institute for Public Accuracy), Nancy Snow (California State University, Fullerton, author of Propaganda Inc. and Information War), Doug Kellner (UCLA), Julian Petley, Yvonne Ridley (Aljazeera.net and author of In the Hands of the Taliban), Tim Gopsill (Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom), Faisal Bodi (UK Guardian, Aljazeera.net), Alistair Alexander (Stop the War Coalition), Greg Philo (Glasgow University Media Group), Steve Dorrill, Andy Rowell, Granville Williams and cartoonists Steve Bell, Steve Caplin and Polyp.

Did the US and UK governments lie about weapons of mass destruction to promote an attack on Iraq? Did the media hold them to account or act as cheerleaders for war? Tell Me Lies reveals the systematic propaganda used by both the US and UK governments to convince us of the 'threat' from Iraq. It shows how we were deliberately misled into a war that has resulted in a humanitarian disaster in Iraq and threatens to create further instability and resentment of the US and UK throughout the Middle East. Written by some of the world's leading journalists and commentators, Tell Me Lies is a scathing indictment of the role of the mainstream media in legitimising government actions and undermining dissent. Critics, activists and journalists from both sides of the Atlantic explore alternatives such as the internet and al-Jazeera and provide analysis and guidance on resisting the media war. Chomsky, Pilger, Fisk, Mark Thomas, Mark Steel, Edward Herman, Mark Curtis and others cut through the propaganda of the media's coverage of Iraq