Media Issues
The Australian newspaper targets Chinese university students
By John Harris, 21 January 2019
The article implied that the victory of a Chinese-born student in a university election expressed the dangers of “Chinese interference” at Australian campuses.
US-born anchor for Iranian TV jailed without charges
By Bill Van Auken, 18 January 2019
The police state style abduction and imprisonment of Marzieh Hashemi is part of Washington’s wider preparations for war against Iran.
German political parties and media express solidarity with far-right AfD
By Ulrich Rippert and Johannes Stern, 14 January 2019
The Magnitz case reveals the extent to which the AfD has been integrated into official politics.
Corporate media smears WikiLeaks and Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 11 January 2019
A host of articles attacking Julian Assange this week are representative of what the world-renowned investigative journalist John Pilger aptly described as “Vichy journalism.”
German media demand accelerated rearmament
By Peter Schwarz, 7 January 2019
Editorials in leading German publications are marked by a mixture of fear and aggression as the new year begins.
Der Spiegel’s counterfeit journalism and the campaign against “fake news”
By Peter Schwarz, 31 December 2018
The unmasking of a counterfeiter in the editorial offices of the German newsweekly Der Spiegel has exposed the manipulation of public opinion by the so-called authoritative media.
Germany’s Der Spiegel spreads fake news
By Peter Schwarz, 27 December 2018
Der Spiegel has responded to the revelation that it spread invented "news" with an admission of guilt, self-pity and attempts to shift the blame.
Mary Queen of Scots and The Favourite: The unimpressive recent results of “women in film”
By Joanne Laurier, 24 December 2018
Mary Queen of Scots and The Favourite belong to this year’s flood of “women” films. Many others have already disappeared without a trace.
CNN fires contributor accused of “anti-Semitism” for defending Palestinian rights
By Kayla Costa, 1 December 2018
While CNN has not provided a full explanation, the firing of Marc Lamont Hill came one day after he made public statements critical of Israeli policy against Palestinians.
After police raids on LFI, French courts and media denounce Mélenchon
By Alex Lantier, 18 October 2018
The official reaction to the police raids on Mélenchon’s LFI movement shows that a police state exists and is rapidly consolidating itself in France.
A reply to French daily Libération
Is the WSWS exaggerating the threat of war?
By Alex Lantier, 17 October 2018
While admitting the WSWS accurately reports US military measures aimed at Russia and China, Libération claims that we are overstating US preparations for “total war.”
Rupert Murdoch accused of insisting on Australian prime minister’s removal
By Mike Head, 22 September 2018
Behind the façade of elections, the reality is that powerful figures in the corporate ruling class make or break governments.
UK: Corbyn’s media policies leave corporate domination unchanged, silent on censorship
By Joe Mount and Julie Hyland, 20 September 2018
There was not a single proposal by the Labour Party leader challenging the corporate oligarchy’s domination of the media.
Economist magazine calls for soldier MPs to lead UK
By Julie Hyland, 18 September 2018
The Bagehot column celebrates that the tradition of soldier-statesman is “now being renewed, after a succession of wars in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Ronan Farrow’s #MeToo campaign brings down Leslie Moonves at CBS
By Fred Mazelis, 13 September 2018
The ousting of Moonves is part of an ongoing struggle for power and wealth within the media and entertainment industries.
New York Times covers up Google’s censorship
By Andre Damon, 7 September 2018
The Times’ report on allegations that Google is censoring the Internet is a white-wash, echoing the company’s self-serving denials without any serious examination of the facts.
The “unmaking” of #MeToo’s Asia Argento
By David Walsh, 22 August 2018
The latest episode in the #MeToo drama unfolded earlier this week following the revelation that actress Asia Argento, one of the alleged victims of producer Harvey Weinstein, purportedly paid off a young man who accused her of sexual abuse.
German Left Party leaders launch right-wing coalition
By Ulrich Rippert, 11 August 2018
The #StandUp coalition combines anti-corporate demagogy with nationalist and xenophobic positions pioneered by the extreme right.
The New York Times defends Sarah Jeong after racist tweets come to light
By Hiram Lee, 8 August 2018
After a series of anti-white tweets by reporter Sarah Jeong emerged online, the New York Times and the pseudo-left came to her defense.
Australia: Nine-Fairfax Media merger threatens jobs
By Oscar Grenfell, 3 August 2018
The deal marks a new stage in a protracted restructuring of corporate media organisations, dictated by the financial elite.
Under massive pressure, Trump backpedals on Russia “meddling”
By Andre Damon, 18 July 2018
This entire sordid episode demonstrates the degree to which the intelligence apparatus, with its single-minded pursuit of military conflict with Russia, holds sway over the American state, media and political establishment.
The Guardian’s Marina Hyde accuses actress Susan Sarandon of being Trump’s “asset”
By David Walsh, 10 July 2018
Sarandon’s great crime? Failing to endorse Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election and instead calling for a vote for Jill Stein of the Green Party.
Sex and the New York Times: When “Her Too” isn’t “Me Too”
By David Walsh, 27 June 2018
The New York Times discovers nuance in sexual behavior when it involves a reporter and a valuable source.
The foul role of Spiked in the demonization of Julian Assange
By Thomas Scripps, 23 June 2018
Spiked has echoed the propaganda of the British government and a compliant media in demanding the prosecution of WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange.
Political cartoonist fired by right-wing Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editors over anti-Trump cartoons
By Kayla Costa, 16 June 2018
After rejecting nineteen of his cartoons since March, the newspaper’s editors fired Rob Rogers for not complying with their efforts to shift content to the right.
The Guardian mounts defence of British government lies over Skripals
By Jean Shaoul, 12 June 2018
The Guardian is acutely aware of the widespread and entirely healthy scepticism towards anything the government says on the Skripal case.
Anti-“fake news” bill gives French state unchecked Internet censorship powers
By Alex Lantier, 8 June 2018
Judges will be allowed to force service providers to take down material posted on the Internet simply by asserting that they believe it to be “fake news.”
“Government propaganda and the war on terror from 9/11 to Syria”
Journalists and academics expose UK’s criminal actions in the Middle East
By Julie Hyland, 31 May 2018
Despite media smears and government censorship, Media on Trial held an important and successful event exposing the connection between press propaganda and government warmongering.
Sunday Times Rich List: Wealth of Britain’s richest grew 10 percent
By Simon Whelan, 22 May 2018
In the same year that 72 people were killed in London’s Grenfell Tower inferno due to cost-cutting, the city’s wealthiest residents became even richer.
Two Britains: The Grenfell inquiry and the royal wedding
By Thomas Scripps, 22 May 2018
Not a single national newspaper deemed the opening of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry worthy of a position on their front page. Instead, they continued to obsess over the minutiae of the weekend’s royal wedding.
Sunday Times Insight team: Propagandists for Internet censorship and war
By Steve James and Laura Tiernan, 7 May 2018
The Sunday Times feature, published April 29, purports to show that Russian Twitter bots tried to “swing” the 2017 general election for Jeremy Corbyn.
US election meddling in the age of the Internet
How Google, Facebook and Twitter are manipulating the Mexican presidential elections—Part 1
By Alex González and Andrea Lobo, 28 April 2018
The United States is now engaged in advanced efforts to exploit data on every voter in the country, as well as user data from Google and the social media companies, to influence the elections of its southern neighbor.
Germany: Why is the taz newspaper defending the far-right ideologue Baberowski?
By Christoph Vandreier, 27 March 2018
The veteran journalist Edith Kresta has spoken out again “moral sectarianism” in relation to far-right positions and against the stigmatization of xenophobic prejudices.
Geoffrey Rush lawsuit strikes blow against anti-democratic #MeToo campaign
By Richard Phillips and James Cogan, 22 March 2018
A judge ruled that the Murdoch media could not substantiate the allegations of sexual misconduct it made against acclaimed Australian actor Geoffrey Rush.
“A Weinsteinian sex pest”?
In defence of poet Robert Burns: “Ye know, and dare maintain, the Royalty of Man”
By Paul Bond, 15 March 2018
The ahistorical middle-class moralizing of the sexual misconduct campaign has perhaps reached a new low with an attack on the great Scots poet Robert Burns (1759-1796).
An Open letter from the International Youth and Students for Social Equality to the editors of German daily Tageszeitung
12 March 2018
The following letter was sent by the IYSSE to the editors of the German daily Tageszeitung, after it published a defence of right-wing extremist professor Jörg Baberowski and defamed his critics.
The Oscar speech we’d like to hear Sunday night: “Members of the Academy, what hypocrites and conformists so many of you are!”
By David Walsh, 3 March 2018
The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, ostensibly honoring the best films and performances of 2017, will be held Sunday evening at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.
Ex-CIA head John Brennan hired as news analyst by NBC
By Julian James, 28 February 2018
Brennan is implicated in some of the most criminal policies enacted under the Bush and Obama administrations, including the CIA torture program and the drone assassination program.
BBC gender pay row: Selective outrage of wealthy women
By Laura Tiernan, 22 February 2018
The privileged advocates of identity politics at the BBC are not remotely interested in the problems faced by most women in the workforce.
The New York Times and the strange case of Quinn Norton
By Will Morrow, 22 February 2018
The hiring and firing of the little-known blogger reveals certain realities about the Times editorial page.
The suicide of Jill Messick: #MeToo campaign claims a victim
By David Walsh, 10 February 2018
Messick was the manager of actress Rose McGowan at the time of an incident involving producer Harvey Weinstein in January 1997 at the Sundance Film Festival, during which McGowan alleges a sexual assault occurred.
A conversation with film historian Max Alvarez: How the #MeToo campaign echoes the McCarthyite witch hunt of the 1940s and 1950s
“The climate is chillingly similar in terms of the massive capitulation and conformity”
By David Walsh, 8 February 2018
It is “Scoundrel Time” again in Hollywood, complete with denunciations, anonymous informants, humiliating “confessions,” trial by media and the banning of prominent performers.
US Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg endorses #MeToo
By Ed Hightower and Tom Carter, 1 February 2018
As a sitting Supreme Court justice, Ginsburg's comments granted a quasi-official sanction to the lynch mob atmosphere surrounding the campaign.
Opposition mounts to sexual harassment witch-hunt
By Joseph Kishore, 16 December 2017
With the initial shock of the campaign beginning to wane, opposition is emerging from some of those targeted, including PBS personality Tavis Smiley.
Australian actor Geoffrey Rush fights back, suing Daily Telegraph for defamation
By Richard Phillips and Linda Tenenbaum, 9 December 2017
Many in the industry are deeply opposed to this new McCarthyism and they are starting to speak out.
Former UK minister indicates Brexit referendum “deal” between Rupert Murdoch and David Cameron
By Julie Hyland, 7 December 2017
According to Ken Clarke, Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of Murdoch’s British arm, News International, said she was “running the government now in partnership with David Cameron.”
Acclaimed Australian actor Geoffrey Rush becomes the latest witch-hunt victim
By James Cogan, 2 December 2017
The Murdoch media is circulating unsubstantiated allegations, made by an unidentified individual, in an attempt to destroy Rush’s career.
The Guardian’s George Monbiot joins “fake news” campaign
By Jean Shaoul, 22 November 2017
For the Guardian’s George Monbiot to portray the entirely valid criticisms of the official line on the Khan Sheikhoun attack in Syria as fuelling far-right conspiracy theories is politically criminal.
Google announces moves to censor RT and Sputnik
By Trévon Austin, 21 November 2017
Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Google’s parent company Alphabet, announced that Google will create algorithms designed to “de-rank” web sites such as RT and Sputnik.
Australia: Glencore steps up provocations against locked-out miners
By Terry Cook, 20 October 2017
The giant company is seeking to force through an enterprise agreement that slashes pay and working conditions.
GM Canada strike in danger
Why is Unifor trying to gag CAMI strikers?
By Carl Bronski and Jerry White, 22 September 2017
Officials from the Unifor union said Wednesday that they have offered an “olive branch” to GM to end the strike.
Channel Four News anchor Jon Snow: From mea culpas over Grenfell Tower to demands for censorship
By Chris Marsden, 1 September 2017
Snow’s proposals to “democratise” the media repeated official complaints about “fake news” used by Google to blacklist the WSWS and other sites.
Der Spiegel calls for a strongman in Germany
By Wolfgang Weber, 14 August 2017
An entire edition of the leading news magazine is devoted to discussing how a Trump-style leader could be just what the German ruling class needs.
The Guardian’s Owen Jones: A political health warning
By Julie Hyland, 17 June 2017
Guardian journalist Owen Jones, who spent much of the last year preparing for yet another leadership challenge against Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, is now singing another tune.
Australian establishment falls into line with anti-China allegations
By James Cogan, 7 June 2017
Fears about growing anti-war sentiment motivate efforts to develop suspicion and hostility towards China.
After Australian journalists’ strike
The political issues facing Fairfax workers
By the Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 11 May 2017
The end of the week-long strike and the commitment of the media union to resume back-room negotiations for the destruction of jobs, poses major political issues before Fairfax workers.
Federal agency to investigate talk show host Stephen Colbert over anti-Trump joke
By David Walsh, 8 May 2017
Colbert’s monologue on May 1 was bankrupt and did not offer a trace of insight, comic or otherwise, into the predicament the American population faces under a Trump administration.
Behind the Sun’s diatribe against footballer Ross Barkley
By Tony Robson, 18 April 2017
In the furore surrounding the filthy column by Kelvin MacKenzie, little has been said about the attack on working class men in Liverpool that constitutes the main thrust of his column.
Britain’s Guardian cynically poses as opponent of war in Syria
By Chris Marsden, 14 April 2017
The Guardian is arguing for continued pressure to be placed on Trump in order to extract the necessary quid pro quo from Washington in return for British and European support for the US war drive in Syria.
US claims of Syria nerve gas attack: The anatomy of a lie
By Patrick Martin, 13 April 2017
All available evidence suggests that the tragedy in Khan Sheikhoun is a deliberate provocation organized by the American CIA and its clients among the Syrian “rebels.”
Der Spiegel columnist adopts slogans of the far right
By Ulrich Rippert, 13 April 2017
Jakob Augstein, son of the founder of Der Spiegel and publisher of the weekly newspaper Freitag, has adopted positions associated with the far right: identity and homeland.
Behind the Guardian’s “Laundromat” money laundering exposure
By Jean Shaoul, 3 April 2017
Last week, the Guardian newspaper carried a feature story claiming to expose a “vast money-laundering operation run by Russian criminals with links to the Russian government and the KGB.”
The WikiLeaks revelations and the crimes of US imperialism
By Andre Damon, 9 March 2017
The WikiLeaks documents expose the US as the greatest “rogue state,” carrying out spying, hacking, exploitation and disinformation operations all over the world in order to further the interests of the US ruling elite.
Columnist Myles E. Johnson on Beyoncé at the Grammys
The New York Times opens its pages to frenzied racialism
By David Walsh, 16 February 2017
The February 14 op-ed piece in the Times by Myles E. Johnson (“What Beyoncé Won Was Bigger Than a Grammy”) is an especially repugnant example of racialism.
The Guardian uses anti-Russian hacking claims to proselytise for CIA and war
By Julie Hyland, 13 January 2017
The Guardian demands that readers abandon their critical faculties—or what the newspaper would undoubtedly deem their “illegitimate scepticism”—to line up behind the war aims of the CIA and the Democratic Party.
German government plans propaganda agency in response to “fake news”
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 9 January 2017
The campaign against “fake news” on the Internet is being used as a pretext for state censorship and the establishment of a propaganda agency.
The media campaign on Russian hacking and the US debacle in Syria
By Andre Damon, 9 January 2017
Despite the absence of any factual evidence in the report released last week by US intelligence agencies on alleged Russian hacking, the media campaign for war shows no signs of abating.
Washington Post falsely accuses Russia of hacking Vermont power company
By Kevin Martinez, 3 January 2017
The newspaper was forced to retract its story after the power company announced that the laptop in question was not even connected to the electrical grid.
UK: The Sky takeover deal and the rehabilitation of Rupert Murdoch
By Thomas Scripps, 31 December 2016
Less than six years after the phone-hacking scandal involving the News of the World, the media oligarch Rupert Murdoch and his Fox corporation are set to take over UK TV company Sky.
Facebook’s “fake news” measures: A move toward censorship
By George Gallanis, 17 December 2016
Facebook will begin validating articles posted on the social media platform through third party agencies, dominated by the establishment media and institutions affiliated with the state.
The “fake news” furor and the threat of Internet censorship
By Kevin Reed, 1 December 2016
There is more than a whiff of McCarthyism in the crusade by the corporate-controlled media against “fake news” on social media and the Internet.
Guardian columnist Will Hutton rants against the Brexit “mob”
By Paul Mitchell, 21 November 2016
Hutton’s defence of a political and economic system that is committed to austerity only legitimises UKIP’s demagogic posturing as the voice of the “people” against “the elites.”
Trump’s appointment of Stephen Bannon: A new stage in the crisis of American democracy
By Joseph Kishore, 15 November 2016
Trump's rise to power signals a drastic political realignment within the American ruling class.
From monster to Mr. President-Elect: Democrats grovel before Trump
By Andre Damon, 11 November 2016
In rushing to support Trump, the Democrats and the media are largely remaining silent about a significant fact of the election: the president-elect lost the popular vote.
Australia: Unions back cuts in working conditions at state broadcaster
By our reporters, 9 November 2016
Union support for the new Australian Broadcasting Corporation enterprise agreement opens the way for even deeper attacks on jobs and conditions.
Hungary: Last newspaper critical of government shut down
By Markus Salzmann, 21 October 2016
The suddenness and political background of the closure indicates that the paper was put under pressure from the highest government circles.
Greek PM Tsipras promotes nationalism, austerity at Southern European conference
By Alex Lantier, 9 September 2016
Amid protests against its austerity policies in Greece, Syriza is boosting the EU and trying to divert social anger along nationalist lines, inciting anti-German sentiment.
Intelligence agencies reportedly question Australian PM’s “stance” on China
By James Cogan, 5 September 2016
The question mark over Turnbull’s allegiance to the US alliance and anti-China agenda has been raised under conditions in which he holds office by a thread.
Britain’s Financial Times calls on anti-Corbyn plotters to prepare Labour split
By Julie Hyland, 20 August 2016
The FT said the Labour right must think “through what a new party of the centre-left would stand for” and make “serious preparation” for a breakaway.
The New York Times whitewashes US imperialism in Middle East and contemplates ethnic cleansing
By Eric London, 17 August 2016
A essay published by the Times on Sunday concludes that the collapse of nationalist governments in the Middle East proves the necessity for a sectarian division of the region.
German “left” journalist Jakob Augstein comes out as a right-winger
By Peter Schwarz, 8 August 2016
In his latest column in Der Spiegel, Augstein rails against dual citizenship for Germans of Turkish origin.
From WikiLeaks’ Clinton Email Archive
The New York Times’ chief military correspondent met secretly with State Department in 2010 to bury Iraq War Logs
By E.P. Bannon, 3 August 2016
The revelation of the correspondence again makes clear the degree to which the American “fourth estate” is completely integrated into the capitalist state.
New York Times concocts amalgam to link Trump and Putin in Democrats’ email scandal
By Isaac Finn, 28 July 2016
The Times is spearheading the Clinton campaign’s effort to pin the leaking of incriminating DNC emails on a supposed plot by Russia to tilt the US election in favor of Trump.
UK Guardian’s Owen Jones offers apologia for anti-Corbyn coup
By Julie Hyland, 16 July 2016
Jones’ criticism of the right-wing Labourites is not with their coup against Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn per se, but rather its timing.
The New York Times on the Chilcot report on Iraq war: “Nothing new here”
By Bill Van Auken, 8 July 2016
During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, the Times provided invaluable assistance to the Bush administration in dragging the American people into a criminal war based on lies.
Australia: Fairfax Media imposes forced redundancies
By Terry Cook, 19 May 2016
Amid threatened government legal action against its workers for striking, one of the country’s largest media corporations last week began sacking editorial staff across two states.
Murdoch tabloid appeals to voters to “save” Labor candidate in Australian elections
By Oscar Grenfell, 11 May 2016
The Daily Telegraph’s editorial expressed concerns within ruling circles that the elections are deepening the crisis of the two-party parliamentary set-up.
Paul Krugman smears Bernie Sanders
By Barry Grey, 9 April 2016
New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has penned another unprincipled and dishonest attack on Bernie Sanders on behalf of the Democratic Party establishment and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
Politicians and media promote far-right Alternative for Germany
By Johannes Stern, 31 March 2016
The friendly overtures extend from the Left Party to the Christian Democrats.
Why the New York Times is pushing racial politics in Flint
By Barry Grey, 26 March 2016
It is to preempt and subvert the growth of class consciousness that the Times, the “newspaper of record” of the American ruling class, ferociously promotes racial politics.
Die Zeit campaigns for military intervention in Libya
By Johannes Stern, 14 March 2016
In its latest lead article, Die Zeit calls for the West to intervene militarily in Libya under the guise of the fight against ISIS.
German news magazine Der Spiegel urges war against Russia
By Johannes Stern, 25 February 2016
The lead article in the latest issue of Der Spiegel, entitled “Putin’s aggressions,” calls for the Western powers to decisively “counter” Russia.
Canada’s media pushes for more military spending, bigger Mideast war role
By Roger Jordan, 12 February 2016
The Trudeau government is significantly expanding Canada’s role in the Mideast war, yet the media is criticizing it for not acting even more aggressively in alliance with Washington.
The Guardian defends continued persecution of Julian Assange by UK and Sweden
By Robert Stevens, 11 February 2016
In seeking to undermine the UN’s opinion, the Guardian simply parrots the line of the British and Swedish governments.
Racialism, art and the Academy Awards controversy
By David Walsh, 30 January 2016
It is no exaggeration to point out that, in ideological terms, Cara Buckley in the New York Times and others, in their obsession with race, are spouting a conception of society and art identified historically with the extreme right.
The New York Times backs anti-refugee drive in Germany
By Bill Van Auken, 15 January 2016
America’s “newspaper of record” provides a phony liberal veneer for the virulent anti-immigrant chauvinism being whipped up in Europe.
No further prosecutions in UK phone hacking scandal
By Robert Stevens, 18 December 2015
Over the last four years, every effort was made to ensure that Murdoch and his flunkeys would escape justice.
What is the BBC doing in the South China Sea?
By Peter Symonds, 16 December 2015
A BBC news crew deliberately intruded inside the 12-nautical-mile territorial limit around a Chinese-controlled reef to provoke a reaction in an already tense situation.
Paris terrorists operated “in plain sight”
By Patrick Martin, 21 November 2015
At least six of the nine men involved in the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris were known to the French and Belgian security services.
Britain’s Paul Mason: A left liberal warmonger
By Chris Marsden, 21 November 2015
Mason is portrayed, and portrays himself, as a “man of the left,” based largely on his membership in the group Workers Power in the 1980s.
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