Television – The Nuclear Option

 

In many parts of the world, pervasive propaganda machines deploy messaging to twist their citizens to the “correct” point of view. Sometimes, extremists within those countries commandeer mass media, from television (in all its formats) to social media, sometimes on a highly selective basis. Think North Korea, Russia, China, Cuba, Iran (see below) and even the United States. Whether the American center and left may not like it very much, the populist Republican right has adopted Fox News as its spokes-network (with a few minor networks, like OAN, vying for greater visibility). A strange choice if truth is your metric, since Fox own lawyers have questioned whether a reasonable man would even believe its high-profile reporter/anchors.

In the 2020 defamation case of [Karen] McDougal v. Fox News Network, LLC, US District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil dismissed the case against Fox, citing Fox own lawyer’s brief, stating: “Fox persuasively argues, see Def Br. at 13-15, that given [Fox News Anchor Tucker] Carlson’s reputation, any reasonable viewer ‘arrive[s] with an appropriate amount of skepticism’ about the statements he makes.  600 W. 115th Corp. v. Von Gutfeld, 80 N.Y.2d 130, 141, 603 N.E.2d 930, 936 (1992).  Whether the Court frames Mr. Carlson’s statements as ‘exaggeration,’ ‘non-literal commentary,’ or simply bloviating for his audience, the conclusion remains the same—the statements are not actionable.” In short, no reasonable man would ever believe Tucker Carlson or take him literally. Presumably, that would apply to every other Fox anchor relying on Carlson’s divisive and inflammatory style of “reportage.”

I’ve already addressed the evils of social media in the United States – see my October 31st Which is the Next Big Tobacco - Petroleum or Facebook blog, for example – but the examination of good old fashioned television (including streaming) merits its own review. And while Fox News and the US court system may make that “news” organization most uncredible, using television to make a point is pretty standard fare all over the world, particularly in autocratic countries. Take Iran, for example, which faces an internal battle between its hardliners, who oppose reinstating a nuclear containment treaty, and the nation’s pragmatists, noting that fossil fuel power is beginning to wane, who would prefer to lift US-driven Western economic sanctions that have hobbled their economy.

Those hardliners have found their secret weapon in their sponsorship of a fictional television program that has become wildly popular, as Los Angeles Times (November 21st) writers Omid Khazani and Henry Chu call the production of “Gando” – “Iran TV’s weapon of mass delusion.” Indeed, “Gando” “is having an impact far beyond the small screen, morphing into a real-life political force that could upset sensitive nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the West…

“That’s exactly what its producers want. More than just a showcase for spectacular car chases and knotty storylines, the spy thriller is a sophisticated ploy by Iranian hard-liners eager to torpedo the nuclear talks, turning mass entertainment into a weapon in their battle against the country’s moderates.

The series, which stars some big names in Iranian showbiz, catapulted to success when it debuted in 2019, scoring the highest ratings ever on Iranian state television. Season 2 was pushed out onto the airwaves in March, in what appeared to be a bid to help sabotage Iran’s nuclear negotiations as they were starting to gain momentum .

“The show is now a shibboleth of public discourse here, a byword among ultraconservatives who praise it as a patriotic expose and reformists who denounce it as slanderous propaganda. And with the nuclear talks possibly taking on some new traction after being stalled for months, ‘Gando’ has, coincidentally or not, just gone back on air in reruns.

“The series revolves around the real-life dialogue between Tehran and world powers, including the U.S. and U.K., to revive their moribund 2015 nuclear accord. But in its role as a Trojan horse for a political misinformation campaign, ‘Gando’ spins its own web of made-up intrigue and dark ops.

“The cast of characters includes American and British agents who are repeatedly foiled in their attempts at infiltration; a hard-boiled Iranian intelligence officer named Mohammad, who is blown up by terrorists in the recent season finale; and a thinly veiled version of Jason Rezaian, the Washington Post journalist who spent 18 months in an Iranian prison until his release in 2016.

“More scurrilously, the Iranian nuclear negotiators on the show are portrayed as, at best, stooges of the West or, at worst, traitors out to subvert the Islamic Republic. In an episode that attracted particular controversy, Mohammad uncovers a secret connection between some of the negotiators and British intelligence as he investigates a scheme by the West to sow discord between Sunnis and Shiites.” LA times. Much like Fox News that presents a dramatic departure from objective facts to promote a highly polarizing reinterpretation of the world, Iran’s hardliners have found their own secret weapon: 

“The nakedly political stance of the show, especially in the latest season, has triggered a backlash from detractors, not just against the series but also against some of its stars. One actor complained of being turned down for roles in projects by independent producers because of her appearance on ‘Gando.’.. Another actor, Dariush Farhang, a pioneer of Iranian cinema and theater, found himself accused of trading his reputation for the money he made from playing an intelligence chief on the show. When photos of Farhang out shopping in Toronto were posted online, some of his compatriots responded scathingly: ‘You depicted the West as filthy, and yet you do your shopping there.’

“‘Gando’s’ producers have promised more seasons of their hit series… Its fans are no doubt excited. Its critics are still fuming over what they see as sinister manipulation by a faction of Iranian society to get the public on its side… ‘It is made to impose the will of a minority on a majority of people … using drama and fiction,’ veteran journalist Mehrdad Khadir said. ‘It is absolutely not an artistic piece. Rather, it’s an attempt to affect the future of those who enjoy it as entertainment.’” If the pervasive use of mainstream television to present false narratives intended to impose extreme conservative agendas is a salient hallmark of repressive autocracies, I suspect we need to take a good hard look at America and its most significant purveyor of fake news.

By recent example, at Fox News on November 22nd, two conservative commentators felt that they needed to resign after the airing of Tucker Carlson’s purported three-part Patriot Purge “documentary,” purporting to show the “true” story behind the January 6th insurrection. Fox News regulars, Jonah Goldberg and Steve Hayes, resignation statement said that the documentary is a “collection of incoherent conspiracy-mongering, riddled with factual inaccuracies, half-truths, deceptive imagery, and damning omissions.” The two contributors said that this instance was one of many that led to their resignation. They said that Patriot Purge wasn’t an isolated incident, it was merely “the most egregious example of a longstanding trend.” Welcome to America, where conspiracy theory propaganda has become very lucrative.

I’m Peter Dekom, and whether the United States can actually survive the mass legitimization of fake and polarizing television and social media is very much at issue.