Propaganda and the subversion of objectivity: media coverage of the war on terrorism in Iraq

Abstract

Osama bin Laden must be supremely confident about the continuing success of international terrorism, given events of the seven years following the 9/11 attacks. The West's response thus far has weakened the United States and its allies and generally strengthened terrorist organisations across the globe. We argue that the terrorist victory stems in part from media coverage of the George W. Bush administration's march to war. We argue that the media (1) failed to employ time-honoured principles of objectivity in covering the run-up to war, and (2) endorsed the Bush administration's exploitation of propaganda techniques to rally public support for war. We conclude that the media have not accepted that this constitutes a failure in professional ethics – even as journalists and news organisations acknowledge lapses in judgement in their coverage of news about Iraq – and we offer a few suggestions about what journalists could have done to alter the media's stance on terrorism and the war. It is doubtful, however, whether the media have learned from this experience or will act any differently the next time the nation faces a crisis.