The U.S. military is paying Iraqi newspapers to publish "good news" stories. A defense contractor, the Lincoln Group, translates the stories into Arabic and then works to get them placed, sometimes with their staffers posing as reporters. The stories appear in the Iraqi press with no indication of their origins.
The LAT article also points out that the military is forbidden to plant propoganda in the American media, but they know perfectly well that the information will "bleed" into our press, and influence coverage.
Is it obvious enough that that’s the point? There is no chance whatsoever that Iraqis are going to be fooled by happy talk when they can see for themselves what’s going on. But if that happy talk happens to find itself on Fox or CNN….?
Billmon wrote a fascinating post on the Lincoln Group last summer, focusing on what seems to be their primary business — chanelling money to Republican hacks, and doing research on the opposition — including looking for dirt? — for both businesses and "select" politicians.
The LAT made a good start, but I hope they’re still digging on this story.
