Once again the US has embarked on perpetual war, this time its proxy war with Russia over Ukraine.
And once again US media has completely failed to adequately and accurately cover the latest which may be heading to nuclear confrontation with Russia.
Closing in on 11 months tomorrow, war coverage has largely disappeared from our electronic and print journalism. That alone is a disgrace, preventing the nurturing of an informed electorate on a potentially catastrophic issue. The media is much more interested in providing entertainment and distraction with endless hours on a football injury, a dysfunctional House parliamentary procedure, year’s old and largely irrelevant government documents found at presidential homes, and the latest in America’s weekly mass slaughter from machine guns.
But it’s worse than that. When they do cover the war, mainstream media has spent the last 11 months omitting 8 years of America’s anti-Russian provocations which made Russia’s illegal invasion virtually inevitable. They’ve erased out successful US efforts to sabotage the 15 point peace agreement brokered by Turkey with Russia and Ukraine in March that could have ended the war early on, saving thousands of lives.
Even worse, mainstream media has concocted a false war narrative focusing on imaginary Ukrainian victory amid near total disarray of Russian military operations and internal war opposition. This coverage is so outrageous it brings to mind a mimicking of the infamous ‘Baghdad Bob’, Iraqi Minister of Information who made hilarious announcements of impending Iraq victory in the 2003 Iraq war, while his country was being demolished by American invaders.
Mainstream media cares not a whit about informing the public on matters that could lead to nuclear Armageddon. Honest, responsible war coverage does not bring in the endless millions in advertising needed to sustain media moguls’ lavish lifestyles. Additionally, say or print one word which challenges the government’s false narrative of the war, and lose access to government officials, the lifeblood of any news organization.
If mainstream media were truly honest, they’d change the name of every news show to: Entertainment Today.
Walt Zlotow became involved in antiwar activities upon entering University of Chicago in 1963. He is current president of the West Suburban Peace Coalition based in the Chicago western suburbs. He blogs daily on antiwar and other issues at www.heartlandprogressive.blogspot.com.
Oof, it is so hard to want to continue reading anti-war.com as an anti-war right winger. Can we just stay on one topic? can we just talk about why war is bad? why do we have to have to keep digging at the other side? Why bring up things like gun control in an anti-war article?
I think your comment is longer than how much this article mentioned guns – which it did, once, in 1 word..
So? I didn’t claim it was shorter. I claimed the author is turning of half his audience when he digs at the right wing anti-war.
Trump the anti-war president.
Only in talk, not in reality. No such thing as an anti-war U.S. president.
Don’t give up hope Jeff.
BREAKING: Former President Donald Trump has called for the war in Ukraine to end, following President Joe Biden’s announcement that the US would be sending Abrams tanks to the wartorn eastern European country.
“FIRST COME THE TANKS, THEN COME THE NUKES. Get this crazy war ended, NOW,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “So easy to do!”
And one phone call from a major donor later, he’ll post “I AM THE MOST MILITARISTIC PRESIDENT IN HISTORY AND WHEN I AM RE-ELECTED VLADIMIR PUTIN WILL BE ROASTED OVER AN OPEN FIRE AND SERVED WITH A PEPPERCORN GLAZE AND COVFEFE REDUCTION.”
While he was president, Trump tried to make peace with North Korea, and to remove U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan. But he did none of those because he doesn’t really care about peace, so he didn’t offer any resistance to the military/intelligence/industrial complex when they pushed back.
MSM has indeed been a complete failure – every war it becomes a gleeful cheerleader for the defense department, echoing its lies. “News” articles read like editorial pieces of the MIC and editorials openly call for WW3. It’s better to turn off the news altogether, wherever you get your news from.
That’s because mainstream media is just propaganda for the rich and their corporations. In order to get real news you have to make an effort, it’s not going to come from mainstream media.
“America’s anti-Russian provocations which made Russia’s illegal invasion virtually inevitable”
Here is some light on the topic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWx53-AgqgQ
Thank you for this post. I couldn’t make myself watch beyond the appearance of Nuland with the Chevron banner to her left. I’ll try again later.