Fighting Back
The Department of Defense has set up a web site called For the Record to combat media misrepresentations about defense matters. Lots of luck; even the Pentagon may not have enough staff for that Herculean effort. It's worth a try, though; here is just one example:
Oct. 27, 2006—This week’s exchange with the New York Times isn’t the first time the Department of Defense has expressed concern about inaccuracies in a Times editorial. A September 7 editorial (“A Sudden Sense of Urgency”) asserted that, with the transfer of 14 high-value terrorist suspects to Cuba, “President Bush finally has some real terrorists in Guantánamo Bay.” In fact, those held prior to the transfer included personal bodyguards of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda recruiters, trainers, and facilitators. Another individual held at Guantánamo was Mohamed al-Kahtani, believed to be the intended 20th hijacker on September 11th.The Times declined to issue a correction, noting that “the phrase in question was meant to be somewhat lighthearted in tone and not literal."
Right. The Times is "lighthearted" about Guantanamo Bay. Note, too, the Times's standard in refusing to make a correction here: it's unnecessary because no one will believe what we wrote.
DOD's effort parallels the White House's Setting the Record Straight, an excellent series that also attempts to correct media myths and misrepresentations. The White House's corrections are sent out by email, too, but I'm not sure how to get on the list. Both of these sites are valuable sources of information, but the White House and the Department of Defense can't begin to counteract the mythmaking machine that the MSM have become.
