An issue as serious as the Iraq crisis deserves the highest possible degree of accuracy from the press. U.S. media coverage, however, is marked by frequent misstatements and distortions of reality - some of which have been made repeatedly, even after being pointed out by critics.
Here are a few examples of commonly repeated errors:
1. "But as U.N. weapons inspectors prepare to return to Iraq for the first time since Saddam kicked them out in 1998, the U.S. faces a delicate balancing act: transforming the international consensus for disarmament into a consensus for war." - Randall Pinkston, CBS Evening News (11/9/02).
One of the most common media errors on Iraq is the claim that the U.N. weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998 because they were "kicked out" or "expelled". http://www.fair.org/extra/0210/inspectors.html
The inspectors, led by Richard Butler, actually left voluntarily, knowing that
a U.S. bombing campaign was imminent. This was reported accurately throughout the U.S. press at the time: "Butler ordered his inspectors to evacuate Baghdad, in anticipation of a military attack, on Tuesday night" (Washington Post, 12/18/98).
Here are a few examples of commonly repeated errors:
1. "But as U.N. weapons inspectors prepare to return to Iraq for the first time since Saddam kicked them out in 1998, the U.S. faces a delicate balancing act: transforming the international consensus for disarmament into a consensus for war." - Randall Pinkston, CBS Evening News (11/9/02).
One of the most common media errors on Iraq is the claim that the U.N. weapons inspectors left Iraq in 1998 because they were "kicked out" or "expelled". http://www.fair.org/extra/0210/inspectors.html
The inspectors, led by Richard Butler, actually left voluntarily, knowing that
a U.S. bombing campaign was imminent. This was reported accurately throughout the U.S. press at the time: "Butler ordered his inspectors to evacuate Baghdad, in anticipation of a military attack, on Tuesday night" (Washington Post, 12/18/98).