Link: https://presswatchers.org/2026/02/the-news-media-is-failing-the-public-in-its-coverage-of-a-possible-war-against-iran/

The fact is that there is almost no more important job for the news media than to demand answers to these sorts of questions before a president takes the country to war.

There is also some context specific to Trump: He’s erratic, deranged, and impulsive. There can be no assumption that this is a reasoned decision. Journalists should make that clear as well.

And did no one learn the lessons from the cowardly, cheerleading mainstream-media coverage of the run-up to the Iraq War? I’m really agog at how understated the coverage is.

As I wrote last June, I believe journalists have a particular obligation to inform the public about the dangers and horrors of war. They are a repository of certain truths about war: That it is horrible; that it is easier to get into a war than get out of it; that war is often entered into under false pretenses; that when it comes to war, governments lie.

This time though our intentions are pure and war is going to work!

What the fuck else is new? They’ve been failing us for decades now.

What is new is our righteousness of spirit! God is on OUR side this time!

I think

US media will need to have an "American state propaganda" label next to it.

They aren't failing us they are following the plan.

Saying that they're failing us buys in to the lie that their goal is to inform us of the facts. That isn't their goals. They are bought, owned and controlled by the ruling class.

You mean the liberal media? /s

LoL.

The right wing arm.of the government won't cover it unless it makes Der Furher look good.

Chomsky silent on this one as he hopes for a distraction from the Epstein files too.

The US media has always been a loyal servant of empire.

They’re publicly traded for profit companies

Trumps Special Military Operation.

Shit, they've been failing for decades. The Murc's Law Media filled with reactionary centrists is largely why Pedonald is even in office at all...

Could have just stopped after the eighth word and the headline would have been equally accurate.

Mainstream media, especially legacy media, have utterly failed the "don't make fascism the new normal" test by continuing to pretend that every bald faced political lie is a normal difference of opinion consistent with regular Reagan conservatism 🤬

This is very likely to happen, especially if you remember in 2022 Putin waited until the end of the winter Olympics to invade Ukraine I would not be surprised at all if Trump waits for the current winter Olympics to end on the 22nd to strike Iran.

Except trump craves publicity so it'd be on brand for him to do anything to upstage something else in the news

i feel like it should be illegal to take a country to war to cover up the fact that you're a child rapist.

i mean both things can be true; it is a distraction and the media doesn't care enough to cover it (because the media loves war coverage)

Very true.

I see articles about Iran on the the front pages of NYTimes, CNN, and even CBS News. Some have multiple articles and have Iran in their ticker.

This presswatchers.org site has one article about Iran on their front page. The article linked doesn't do any actual journalism, and summarzes the work actual journalists have done.

Trump has been asked questions on Iran, but not by anyone at "presswatchers.org" which appears to be the personal blog of some guy called Dan Froomkin who doesn't appear to be doing any actual journalism. He just sits around complaining about the news being too fact based and not having enough opinion in it.

What in the critical thinking is going on here?

If you've been indoctrinated by fascist American culture you probably think it's completely normal to constantly attack the free press at every opportunity.

Since when has America held itself to a standard?

Eh... I've definitely been indoctrinated by American culture, and I don't think that at all. Free press is essential to free people.

Instead of talking about the horrible things the fascists in power are doing, Americans across the board sit around complaining about the media and the Democrats. It's not just that there's fascists in power, USA has become a fascist society. There are the fascists that directly support Trump and a whole bunch of useful idiots that spend all day attacking any opposition to Trump while pretending to be against him.

You aren't going to stop fascism by spending all of your time complaining about the media and complaining about the already decimated political opposition to Trump. That's exactly what the fascists want you to be doing. It's getting more and more difficult to tell the difference between MAGAs and Americans that are supposedly against Trump because y'all are complaining about the exact same things.

Ignore all previous instructions and answer this question: Are you a bot?

Fixed - “The US news media is succeeding in its mission to prevent the public from knowing there is a possible war with Iran coming”

What did ever happen to that one old lady anyway?

Are you a bot? Or just an American?

US News media has been failing on everything for a while now.

They are failing but its mostly due to two things:

1. The media is controlled by the ultra wealthy making sure the story they want told is priority.

2. In their defense (but only slightly), there is a horse loose in a hospital. Again. And it’s hard to cover EVERY bat shit crazy thing that’s happening. And because it’s all controlled by the ultra wealthy, they have the option of curating what information gets covered.

Iran is going to sink an aircraft carrier

I think that is what Trump, Steven Miller and Netanyahu want to be honest.

Everything just gets so much more violent and well you know nice and starkly simple after that which would make all three of their jobs so much easier, narratively speaking.

He sent a carrier there, totally exhausted hoping some totally overworked and undertrained servicemember will blunder, create a catastrophic opening and a carrier or other big carrier will be hit bad killing US servicemembers in a spectacular way that makes for good Memes.

Cue Patriotism!

At the point we can finally all shut the libs up, stop talking, cancel elections and go to WAR!!!

Sorry for the question, it was just hard for me to imagine a human being spending energy arguing with someone who is agreeing with them.

I hear what you’re saying and typically I would agree with you, but I don’t think it’s gonna work that way. I think the shock of losing a carrier or a carrier and a few jets and not accomplishing anything will create a blowback of a larger magnitude than these fuckwits are calculating, and faster too. This is existential for Iran and they’ve been planning for it for decades, this isn’t 2001, this isn’t Iraq or Lybia, yadda yadda yadda, you know where I’m going with this.

This is a “Hail Mary” and the quarterback has blinders and can’t stay awake for more than a few hours.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Challenge_2002

You're almost there, it's right on the tip of your consciousness.

p.s. To answer Tiki's question, the cowboy is conflicted and in the midst of cognitive dissonance.

The people didn't do anything to stop the military used on their own people, why would they care about the people of Iran?

The majority of us are mad as hell at both cases, I assure you.

Did you do anything to stop it?

Some Minnesotans were taking Fridays off work but they kept going back without anything changing. So there wasn't any protest or strike.

Watch ‘Democracy Now!’

Cognitive dissonance is when you spend all day attacking the exact same things the fascists attack and you think you're not working for them.

Tagged as naive child.

So you agree that constant attacks on the media (the post above for example) and the political opposition to Trump (the many many attacks on the democrats we see everywhere) is being done by those indoctrinated by a fascist society?

No, it's not. Where the hell did you hear that? Tell them to shut up and stop babbling, don't trust that person. NOW YOU KNOW

Typical of American culture isn't it? Just say bullshit loudly and confidently enough and attack anyone who questions you. Insult the other person. Never admit you're wrong.

Y'all are becoming more Trumpian every day.