Iraqis express anger over 'covert' US press plan

Iraqis reacted angrily over reports that emerged late last month that the US military was writing articles portraying it in a favourable light, translating them into Arabic and having them published in newspapers in Iraq's capital, Baghdad. Khalid Samim, of the Iraqi Journalists Association (IJA), slammed the policy, saying that the US military had abused its power by imposing its ideas on the Iraqi press. “We’ve also received dozens of reports from local journalists and newspapers saying that they have been the victims of threats after they’ve written stories containing evidence against the US military and the Iraqi army,” Samin said. Reports emerged on 30 November that the pentagon had contracted a private public relations firm, the Washington-based Lincoln Group, to run a covert programme aimed at placing positive articles in the Iraqi press. While articles are largely factual, they “present only one side of events or omit information that might reflect poorly on the United States or Iraqi governments,” the Los Angeles Times – which first broke the story – quoted an official as saying. Articles, meanwhile, were not identified as advertising or as originating from US sources. In the wake of the revelations, US military officials in Iraq defended the programme, saying it served merely “as a function of buying advertising and opinion space, as is customary in Iraq." According to Muhammad Hayat, a journalist for local newspaper Baghdad Today, the policy is not a new one. “We have known about this behaviour on the part of the US government since 2003,” he said. Hayat also complained of threats received by newspapers after they had published articles reflecting badly on the US military. “I can’t make any direct accusations, but it’s an incredible coincidence that threats always followed negative articles,” he said. A source from Iraqi broadsheet Al-Dustour, one of the papers accused of having received money from the US government to publish pro-US stories, admitted that it had happened, but added that the newspaper feared it would be shut down if it did not comply. “I know that it’s wrong,” said the source, who preferred anonymity. “We never ran lies, it was just a matter of helping the relationship between Iraqi and US forces.” A source from Iraqi newspaper Al-Mutamar, also cited as having run articles prepared by US sources, refused to speak on the issue. Iraqi readers, meanwhile, showed their discomfort with the news. “I always read Al-Mutamar, but now I’ll prohibit my family from reading the work of those who prefer money to real journalism,” said Abbas Dulaime, 52, a Baghdad shopkeeper. Zumira Ibraheem, a 34-year old primary school teacher, told IRIN that she feared that bogus news reports would have the effect of misleading readers, especially children. “I used to believe that reading newspapers was a very good way to learn,” she said. “But I have since changed my mind.” On 16 December, the International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, journalists and media executives, published an open letter to US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld blasting the practice. “IPI believes that the use of such methods will cause great harm to the Iraqi media environment, as well as to the credibility and reputation of the US,” IPI noted. “Moreover, if left unchecked, it might also have a detrimental impact on the political and media institutions within the US itself.” “Such activities also run the risk of creating a culture, among the Iraqi media, which believes it is perfectly acceptable to receive money in return for press coverage,” the institute added. “If this were to happen, then all the good work of press freedom and other democracy-building organisations in Iraq, who have sought to introduce higher standards, would be undone,” IPI noted.