Editing Media coverage of the Iraq War (section)

===Use of propaganda===
{{main|Propaganda model}}

[[File:Kofi Annan.jpg|180px|right|thumb|[[Kofi Annan]] and [[Richard Perle]] have said the [[Iraq War]] is illegal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3661134.stm|title=Iraq war illegal, says Annan|date=September 16, 2004|website=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/nov/20/usa.iraq1 |title=War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal |first1=Oliver |last1=Burkeman |author-link1=Oliver Burkeman |first2=Julian |last2=Borger |author-link2=Julian Borger |date=20 November 2003|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> but this was never mentioned in the US media aside from Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN.]]

Media critics such as [[Noam Chomsky]], have alleged that the media acted as [[propaganda]] for not questioning the [[legality of the Iraq war]] and thus, took on the fundamental assumptions given by the government.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/xEvIDiVheys Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100125232436/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEvIDiVheys Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEvIDiVheys |title=Illegal but Legitimate: a Dubious Doctrine for the Times |publisher=[[The University of Edinburgh]] |date=November 18, 2008 |last=Chomsky |first=Noam |author-link=Noam Chomsky |via=YouTube |type=Video}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This is despite overwhelming public opinion in favor of only invading Iraq with UN authorization.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/7195/support-invasion-iraq-remains-contingent-un-approval.aspx |title=Support for Invasion of Iraq Remains Contingent on U.N. Approval |website=[[Gallup (company)|Gallup]] |date=November 12, 2002 |last=Moore |first=David W.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OAg68_PMDwAC&q=65+percent+%22the+U.S.+should+only+invade+Iraq+with+UN+approval+and+the+support+of+its+allies%22 |title=The Foreign Policy Disconnect |page=109 |last1=Benjamin I. |first1=Page |last2=Bouton |first2=Marshall M. |author-link1=Benjamin I. Page |location=[[Chicago]] |publisher=[[The University of Chicago Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-226-64461-5}}</ref>

In a 2010 interview, Chomsky compared media coverage of the [[Afghan War documents leak|Afghan War Diaries]] and lack of media coverage to a study of [[Fallujah during the Iraq War#Health effects|severe health problems in Fallujah]].<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/WHfYtvYRgdk Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100830062035/http://www.youtube.com//watch?v=WHfYtvYRgdk Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHfYtvYRgdk |title=Chomsky on the WikiLeaks' Coverage in the Press |publisher=Hoop.mov |date=July 29, 2010 |via=[[YouTube]] |last=Chomsky |first=Noam |author-link=Noam Chomsky |type=Video}}{{cbignore}}</ref> While there was ample coverage of the Afghan War Diaries there was no American coverage of the Fallujah study,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5:beyond-hiroshima-the-non-reporting-of-fallujahs-cancer-catastrophe&catid=1:alerts&Itemid=34|title=Beyond Hiroshima - The non-reporting of Fallujah's cancer catastrophe |website=[[Media Lens]] |date=September 7, 2010 |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219010045/http://medialens.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5:beyond-hiroshima-the-non-reporting-of-fallujahs-cancer-catastrophe&catid=1:alerts&Itemid=34}}</ref> in which the health situation in Fallujah was described by the British media as "worse than Hiroshima".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html |archive-date=2022-05-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Toxic legacy of US assault on Fallujah 'worse than Hiroshima'|date=July 24, 2010|website=[[The Independent]] |last=Cockburn |first=Patrick |author-link=Patrick Cockburn}}</ref>

Chomsky also asserts that the media accurately covered events such as the [[Second Battle of Fallujah|Battle of Fallujah]] but because of an ideological bias, it acts as pro-government propaganda. In describing coverage of raid on Fallujah General Hospital he states that ''[[The New York Times]]'', "accurately recorded the battle of Fallujah but it was celebrated...it was celebration of ongoing war crimes".<ref>{{cite news|title=Chomsky: US won't acknowledge Iraq war crimes|author-link=Saba Hamedy |first=Saba |last=Hamedy |url=http://dailyfreepress.com/2010/09/19/chomsky-us-wont-acknowledge-iraq-war-crimes/|newspaper=[[The Daily Free Press]]|date=September 19, 2010|access-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref> The article in question was "[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/international/middleeast/08hospital.html Early Target of Offensive Is a Hospital]".

It was revealed on October 2, 2016 that the Pentagon paid British PR firm Bell Pottinger $540mn to create fake terrorist videos, fake news articles for Arab news channels and propaganda videos.<ref name="Rebello-3Oct2016">{{cite news|last1=Rebello|first1=Lara|title=Thatcher PR guru Lord Bell ran a $540m Pentagon false propaganda campaign in Iraq|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/thatcher-pr-guru-lord-bell-ran-540m-pentagon-false-propaganda-campaign-iraq-1584495|access-date=September 8, 2017|work=[[International Business Times]]|date=October 3, 2016}}</ref><ref name="times-20161002">{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/lord-bell-ran-540m-covert-pr-ops-in-iraq-for-pentagon-m5js07xtr |title=Lord Bell ran $540m covert PR ops in Iraq for Pentagon |author1=Crofton Black |author2=Abigail Fielding-Smith |author3=Jon Ungoed-Thomas |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=October 2, 2016 |access-date=October 12, 2016}}</ref><ref name="thedailybeast-20161002">{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/01/pentagon-paid-for-fake-al-qaeda-videos.html |title=Pentagon Paid for Fake 'Al Qaeda' Videos |first1=Crofton |last1=Black |first2=Abigail |last2=Fielding-Smith |newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=October 2, 2016 |access-date=October 12, 2016}}</ref>

An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism revealed the details of the multi-million pound operation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://labs.thebureauinvestigates.com/fake-news-and-false-flags/|title=Fake News and False Flags|first2=Abigail |last2=Fielding-Smith |first1=Crofton|last1=Black|website=[[The Bureau of Investigative Journalism]] |date=October 2, 2016}}</ref> Bell Pottinger is understood to have been funded some $540million from the US Department of Defence (DoD) for five contracts from May 2007 to December 2011, according to the Times and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism.<ref name="thetimes.co.uk">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/soap-operas-and-fakery-selling-peace-in-iraq-h5m5sscr9|title=Soap operas and fakery: selling peace in Iraq|first1=Abigail |last1=Fielding-Smith |first2=Crofton |last2=Black |first3=Jon|last3=Ungoed-Thomas|date=October 2, 2016|website=[[The Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.prweek.com/article/1410858|title=Bell Pottinger in the spotlight for creating propaganda videos for US military in Iraq|first=John|last=Harrington |date=October 13, 2016 |website=[[PRWeek]]}}</ref> Lord Tim Bell, the former spin doctor to Margaret Thatcher, confirmed Bell Pottinger reported to the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Council on its work in Iraq.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}