Evergreene Digest A Journal of Progress for the Rest of Us

Some of the worst purveyors of misinformation about Iraq have been warmly embraced by Fox News.

Media Matters for America

During the run-up to the Iraq war, some of the worst purveyors of misinformation about Iraq had a home at Fox News, and their ranks have swelled considerably since then. Media Matters takes a look at the track record of wrong predictions and shoddy analysis about the war in Iraq by many of Fox News’ contributors and analysts.

1. Karl Rove White House Iraq Group was formed to “set [messaging] strategy” for going to war with Iraq. The Washington Post reported in 2003 (accessed via Nexis) that the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) was formed in August 2002 “to set strategy for each stage of the confrontation with Baghdad. A senior official who participated in its work called it ‘an internal working group, like many formed for priority issues, to make sure each part of the White House was fulfilling its responsibilities.’ ” Part of the WHIG’s mission, according to the Post, was to decide “what to demand of the United Nations in the president’s Sept. 12 [2002] address to the General Assembly, when to take the issue to Congress, and how to frame the conflict with Iraq in the midterm election campaign that began in earnest after Labor Day.” Rove was a regular participant in this group.

More...

Glenn Beck doesn't just poison the airwaves with hatred. His hatred actually incites violence and murder.
Our boycott of Fox News advertisers is having a huge impact - over 200 advertisers have pulled their ads from Beck's show.

Bob Fertik, Democrats.com

Today (Aug 28), Glenn Beck tried to hijack Martin Luther King's legacy for his own rightwing agenda - and the corporate media gave saturation coverage to help him.

• Yes, the same Glenn Beck who insisted President Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people ... This man is a racist."
• Yes, the same Glenn Beck who said social justice "leads to death camps" and "a Jew, of all people, should know that."
• Yes, the same Glenn Beck who called progressives a "virus waiting for their chance to suck all of the blood out of the Democratic neck."
• Yes, the same Glenn Beck who called Hillary Clinton "the stereotypical bitch."

Join over 60,000 progressive activists who are boycotting Fox News advertisers.

Glenn Beck doesn't just poison the airwaves with hatred. His hatred actually incites violence and murder.

It gets the facts wrong on crucial history and context relating to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Alex Kane, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)

In an article (8/10/10) on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's testimony to an Israeli panel investigating the May 31 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, the Washington Post gets the facts wrong on crucial history and context relating to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Joel Greenberg writes:

Netanyahu said that the naval blockade, imposed by the previous Israeli government in January 2009 during a military offensive against Hamas, was meant to prevent the smuggling of arms to the Gaza Strip, which he described as "a giant weapons depot and base for attacks on Israel."

He added that 12 ships had tried to run the blockade since it was imposed, but none had reached Gaza.

More...

• Thousands have signed on to FAIR's petition--add your voice today and keep the pressure on NBC to have a real war debate!
• Meet the Press missing antiwar voices

Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)

July saw more U.S. troop fatalities in Afghanistan than any month since the war began nine years ago. Gen. Stanley McChrystal was removed from his commanding post amid controversy, and WikiLeaks released a trove of classified documents that paint a picture of a failing war and unreported civilian casualties.

How has NBC's Meet the Press responded to these developments? By inviting on guests to defend the war and Obama's Afghanistan policy.

Sundays on NBC have been a steady drumbeat of pro-war sentiment: an hour-long puff piece on Gen. David Petraeus (8/15/10); a one-on-one with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (8/1/10); and panel discussions stacked with hawks (7/27/10, 7/11/10). Over the past two months, a single strong antiwar voice has been heard on Meet the Press--California Rep. Barbara Lee (7/27/10)--but she was given little room to speak on a panel with four pro-war guests.

More...