Searching for a hidden hand...(UPDATED)
From Juan's site:
Joseph Mailander of the Martini Republic weblog has an extremely important posting on Sunday about the dangers of "blog trolling." To "troll" in the world of the internet is to lurk on a discussion board and make deliberately false and inflammatory comments, to which all the other posters feel they must reply, so that it roils the list. There is also a connotation of dishonesty about the troll's real identity.
A related practice has been called by Josh Marshall "astroturfing," where a "grass roots" campaign turns out actually to be sponsored by a think tank or corporation. Astroturf is fake grass used in US football arenas. What Mailander is talking about is not really astroturfing, but rather the granting of some individuals a big megaphone.
The MR posting brings up questions about the Iraqi brothers who run the IraqTheModel site. It points out that the views of the brothers are celebrated in the right-leaning weblogging world of the US, even though opinion polling shows that their views are far out of the mainstream of Iraqi opinion. It notes that their choice of internet service provider, in Abilene, Texas, is rather suspicious, and wonders whether they are getting some extra support from certain quarters.
Contrast all this to the young woman computer systems analyst in Baghdad, Riverbend, who is in her views closer to the Iraqi opinion polls, especially with regard to Sunni Arabs, but who is not being feted in Washington, DC.
Of note: Riverbend's site, Baghdad is Burning, referenced by Juan as being closer to Iraqi opinion than IraqThe Model, has in the past referred to HIS site. That doesn't necessarily raise questions about his objectivity or hers...but it's always important to note how one's choice for anecdotal information can influence one's beliefs.
From Joseph and the Martini Republic:
Maybe you’ve wondered: What kind of operations does the U.S. Government conduct in the line of pumping “favorable” propaganda regarding Iraq?
And, more importantly, since this is such an unpopular War: Would the runaway Republican Government dare conduct below-board ops and psy-ops not just in Iraq, but right here in the U.S?
It's probably already obvious that Joe doesn't bring an objective view to the argument. He continues:
Rightwingers have been chortling with glee all week that two of three brothers who write IraqTheModel from Baghdad are on their "Spirit of America" tour in the U.S., garnering an audience with the President, Wolfowitz, New York, the Wall Street Journal, and today with emphatic war supporter RogerLSimon. Simon, a friend of Michael Ledeen--will play host the brothers today, as of this posting right in Simon’s own home. (Simon, has, in fact, linked to the bloggers at IraqTheModel 21 times since July—and rightwing extremist Little Green Footballs’ Charles Johnson has mentioned the brother’s blog 150 times, both men winning the brothers thousands of readers).
As Joe says, there are some valid questions to ask them:
It would be worthwhile to hear from the brothers, for instance, the story on how they decided to alight on a company near Abilene, Texas as their Internet Service Provider when they commenced their blog, six months after the initial "fall" of Baghdad.The U.S. Government, as an NPR commentator recently wrote to Martini Republic, can be “one hell of a press agent.” Does the Government, or people closely connected to Pentagon strategists, have a shadow role in promoting this particular “Spirit of America” tour? Why is the Wall Street Journal so interested in these particular Iraqi bloggers, and not, say, Riverbend?
So apparently it's nefarious to link to Iraq The Model but fair game to link to Riverbend (aka Baghdad is Burning). Joe also makes reference to an Iraqi opinion poll taken in May that indicated widespread Iraqi disapproval of the U.S. occupation. What he fails to mention is the date of the poll or the circumstances surrounding it (the April siege of Fallujah, Sadr uprising, and widespread chaos in the Shiite south). Iraqi opinions of the occupation were at an all-time low because of a perceived lack of security, a temporary sense of community between Sadr followers and Sunni insurgents, and the number of civilian deaths reported out of Fallujah. In failing to report the time and circumstances of the poll, he does his own argument a disservice.
The brothers running Iraq The Model have promised to elaborate on this issue in their own blog - although I doubt anything they can say or do will ever convince Joe they are legitimate. He has chosen his point of view (much like those who listen solely to Iraq The Model) and is unlikely to budge.
So, back to topic, while the majority of Iraq is facing the little minority's hatred and terrorism on a daily basis and which is reflected in Iraqi blogs by pro and anti-American Iraqi blogs respectively, it was natural (but sad) for some powers inside each one of the two major political societies in America while they are divided as they have never been before, to adopt the perspective of one of the two and try to use their writings as propaganda tools in their struggle for power inside America. I keep telling myself that if we are ever going to lose this struggle for democracy in Iraq it would be the result of partisan conflicts either in Iraq or America. However, if this means that we are definitely hired by such power on the right then it should mean that anti-American Iraqi bloggers would be very likely hired by some powers on the left. Can anyone agree on this?! I simply refuse both silly assumptions.
This is the sort of story demonstrating the difficulty in overcoming bias. Because Juan and Joe WANT to believe Iraq is getting worse, they look for anecdotal evidence supporting that view. At the same time, those looking for GOOD news, choose to ignore the bad and focus on what they want to hear. The result? People shout past each other rather than looking carefully for the truth in the middle. What if Riverbend and the guys behind Iraq The Model are just folks with different views, experiences, and ideas? Are they not allowed to have that sort of disagreement without one or the other being accused of stoogery?
I need to spend some more time looking through Juan's site before passing judgment too harshly. He's a well-respected Middle Eastern scholar who has spent time in the region. His opinions shouldn't be dismissed too lightly. Whether or not his expertise also includes sniffing out secret U.S. plans to take over the world, I have been unable to determine. Clearly Joe thinks he's got that down.
No comments:
Post a Comment