It’s no coincidence that both The New York Times and CNN did the same thing in their coverage of Iran. They share the same form of radicalization.
In their pieces whitewashing Iran’s leadership, both refused to describe Hamas, and Iran’s other proxies, as “terrorist groups.” But they did use that label to describe a group Iran opposes: the Islamic State.
I explain why, and what this means for our society, in the latest episode:
From the New York Times, effectively eulogizing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei:
“After the Palestinian militant group Hamas led a devastating attack on Israel in October 2023, he offered full-throated support to anti-Israel militants… In 2014, after a large swath of Iraq was captured by the Islamic State, a Sunni jihadist group, Iran-backed militias helped defeat the terrorist group.”
And CNN, on Iran’s actions under Khamenei:
“It also wielded huge influence over key armed groups elsewhere in the region, such as Lebanon’s once formidable Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen and several armed Shiite groups in Iraq and Syria… In the 2010s, as the threat from the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group grew, so did Iran’s involvement in neighboring Arab countries.
(I discourage visits to failed Big Media, but if you wish to see these, here you go.)
All these groups purposely slaughter civilians to terrorize populations. They’re among the huge and growing number of Islamist terrorist groups worldwide.
Why the doublespeak?
The media refuses to call groups that primarily target Jews “terrorists.” For proof, a deep dive, and what news executives have admitted to me off the record, listen:
And in Episode 75, I shared how the BBC censured its own presenter for referring to Hamas as a terrorist group. But the broadcaster took no action against presenters who used the term to describe terror groups in Africa.
The media’s linguistic trickery is a huge gift to Iran. And it’s a sign of how deeply ingrained the Islamic Republic’s propaganda has become, through decades of memetic warfare.
Paid subscribers: Share thoughts, questions and more through the links below. New episode comes out tomorrow.
JL
P.S. ICYMI:
The Great CBS-CNN Freakout
Who would think the story of a giant corporate merger would tie into the media’s disastrous Iran coverage?