Pluto Press - March 2004
256 pages - Paperback

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B O O K   R E V I E W

TELL ME LIES: PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA DISTORTION IN THE ATTACK ON IRAQ

Edited by David Miller - Foreward by Mark Thomas

Make no mistake: Tell Me Lies is a book showcasing views from a dominantly leftist perspective. As the book does such a good job in demonstrating, such non-mainstream views may appear radical, even extremist, in today's media environment--and the book shows exactly why that is. Jingoistic, one-sided war fervor took over the airwaves seemingly before the first bomb was dropped, and everything else--especially more left-biased perspectives--were simply banished from the airwaves.

As the book's seventeenth piece (of thirty-four)--this one by Norman Solomon--quotes from a study, "viewers were more than six times as likely to see a pro-war source as one who was anti-war; counting only U.S. guests, the ratio increases to 25-to-1". Such demonstrable facts and figures concerning slanted media coverage of the war pop up throughout the book, and lead credence to the use of the words "lie", "propaganda", and "distortion" in the title. After reading the perspectives offered here, one would be quick to agree that all three words fit nicely as descriptors of the Iraq War's pro-government, severely-biased media coverage.

Some lesser-known authors make their mark, and included are interviews by star leftist Noam Chomsky and journalist Robert Fisk. Altogether, the work of thirty-seven individuals are represented.

To those whose opinions on the War were shaped mainly by mainstream media sources, the information offered in Tell Me Lies may appear somewhat radical. The books pieces do invoke some anti-Bushism and leftist rhetoric (John Pilger, whose five overly opinionated essays start off the book, is a low point), but mainly stick to fact-based analysis. 

It is quite telling of the miserable direction into which political discourse and media coverage surrounding America's latest wars have degenerated, when "leftists" seem to be the only ones left caring about the truth. Tell Me Lies is a must-read essay collection for a public that has been lied to for far too long.

Robert Furs