Weapons of Mass Deception

Weapons of Mass Deception

8.39
12345678910
Ratings: 8.39/10 from 69 users.

Weapons of Mass DeceptionWMD, a 100 minute non-fiction film, explores this story with the findings of a gutsy, media insider-turned-outsider, former network journalist, Danny Schechter, who is one of America's most prolific media critics.

Schechter says he "self-embedded" himself in his living room to monitor media coverage, by fastidiously tracking the TV coverage on a daily basis.

He wrote thousands of words daily about the coverage for Mediachannel.org, the world's largest online media issues network, and then collected his columns, blogs and articles in a recently published book, EMBEDDED: Weapons of Mass Deception (Prometheus Books).

He has continued his one-man investigation with WMD, a two-hour indie non-fiction film that asks the questions that his media colleagues refused to confront before, during and after the war. Featuring footage from inside Iraq, and inside the media, WMD tracks the media war through February 2004.

More great documentaries

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

39 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Dionsio
Dionsio
8 years ago

Pretty good documentary i think most everyone should watch if for no other reason then to understand that taking what they see or read in the news as the absolute truth is erroneous.

I do have one bone to pick however and that would be about the "targeting of media" that was in the last half hour. I had a sociology professor infer the same thing. That the military had intentionally targeted to journalists. I cant say with certainty that they didn't, neither can i say they did. However i can say these few truths as veteran of that war specifically. First, just because you told the Pentagon where you were doesn't mean anyone on the ground on the front lines knows where you are. Secondly, people on rooftops and in windows with things mounted on their shoulders pointed at you. Could be a camera, could just as easily be an RPG. To be frank im not surprised they shot at the hotel given the ease of confusion between those two. Finally and most pointedly. They were in a war zone, i dont know what they were expecting. Give the American high command the address of a specific building in a war zone that journalists are staying in, inside a city no less that is in the process of being invaded, and expect that it is enough to keep you safe? What do you think this is? There were a ton of incidents of friendly fire between friendly forces. The journalist experience some while forward of an incoming invasion force and they cry foul. Again, what do you think this is?

Other then that it was a good watch.

Wayne
Wayne
8 years ago

"To keep your hippy ass free, he (the soldier) outs his ass on the line," splutters one loud and embarrassing human being. No. War has nothing to do with freedom for the American citizen. War is about money, and the soldiers do exactly as they're ordered without question.

Maya
Maya
9 years ago

News Broadcast = Corporations
Corporations = Washington
What really gets me is that the people believed all the lies then, and believing the lies now. I don't understand how these soldiers are still going to Iraq or any part of the Middle east, around 60% of these soldiers commit suicide within 12 months of them returning home...you'd think other soldiers would question the reasons..but no they don't...and when or if they die, those politicians wouldn't give a toss about them, after all..those soldiers are nothing but pawns.

Bella Button
Bella Button
10 years ago

Very very good documentary. It's disturbing how duplicitous media corporations and their phony journalists can be, shameful miscreants.
The US government are not far off being terrorists themselves... takes one to know one.

Caron Rawnsley
Caron Rawnsley
10 years ago

this film shows the way media is used to highjack the truth,it is highly revealing

Araminta Tubman
Araminta Tubman
11 years ago

Gimme a f*cking break. All the double talk, spin-doctoring, media controlling, propaganda, etc. that came from the U.S. are the obvious signs of an entity " COVERING UP" a crime that they either participated in or organized, or both. Stop with the nickle and dime " we don't undertsand why" bulls*it. People just don't want to call it what it is,because they don't want to show the governement & the Bush admin for what it was, and what it did, that has us where we are now. Fear wins out again. God bless the american that knows the truth, and GOD bless whatever future generation of media will tell the truth one day about 9-11 & it's aftermath.

mag_vam
mag_vam
11 years ago

Where's the integrity? This is not question about us, The People, but a question to Washington: where's the integrity?

mag_vam
mag_vam
11 years ago

What a messy situation the latest Iraq war was--nothing but a mental tax that still plagues my mind. Ironically, the propaganda is expected--even when a nation is in the right, they will fight with propaganda. But there's just something about this war and the Bush administration that still makes me feel like the victim. I don't think this skepticism is mine alone. It is and has been widespread since then and still is to this day, obviously. Justice has not yet been served. Until then, skepticism will rule the minds of individuals and individuals within legions.

devlinwaugh
devlinwaugh
11 years ago

The 1st world war was the first time footage was shown in reality to a home audience,the audience was so horrified by what they saw the British ministry of defense said that war coverage would be vetted by government before being shown to the public.Danny Schechter is not well read on history but,he is bringing the propaganda and false journalism of the media to the uneducated masses in a way they can understand.He uses pictures and good dialog that the layman can follow and understand,not that this will make any difference to the brain dead masses.

Brain Dead masses = soldiers and wars

No idiots no wars.

Q1
If some idiots are brain dead and all brain dead are soldiers
are all idiots soldiers ?...

Yes [ ]
No [ ]

Juan Carlos Morano
Juan Carlos Morano
12 years ago

ww3 is near. Thank you so much americans and those terrorist israelis you support.

Juan Carlos Morano
Juan Carlos Morano
12 years ago

disgusting. Bush should be sent to Guantanamo!

Winston Smith
Winston Smith
12 years ago

yeah, what do all these people say now that we know that 911 was an inside job? Nothing. Journalism is dead. (If you dont know the truth about 9-11 then do some independent research because you will not read the truth in the NY Times. Go to Architects & Engineers for 911 Truth and watch their latest video '9-11 EXPLOSIVE EVIDENCE: EXPERTS SPEAK OUT.' (IT IS ON TDF) It is simply impossible that explosives were not involved. Look at the facts - and you will come to the same conclusion

bud oracle
bud oracle
12 years ago

It just goes to show you that professionals are "superior" m*rons trained to swallow bull**** at the USA's finest "Universities"

Guest
Guest
12 years ago

No surprise that the USA murdered journaists in Bagdad. We now all know that it's a country of sicko's. War crimes delinquents. It ought to be a sickness that progagated over there? Lying is a strandard to that nation.

Pierre.

Krystal
Krystal
12 years ago

as a mass communication student, I am finally awake....this was quite good.

steamknife
steamknife
12 years ago

The US government learn their lesson from the Vietnam war that media is a setback to their war efforts. Now, they did a better job for the middle east.

It seems like the US is not so far behind to China in regards to media manipulation.

I remember how CNN and CCTV reported the Tibet riot where both sides selectively choose, edit and manipulate the event to favour themselves. I was actually disgusted.

Tom
Tom
13 years ago

Hello. Could someone put a a link to documentary called Starsuckers. I think this is an interesting documentary.

El Moosey
El Moosey
13 years ago

The Media is a business. It operates to earn profits for its shareholders and will spin whatever story will get the most viewers so that it can get more advertising dollar. This is the reason I no longer get my news from the major networks because I simply do not believe most of it, particularly when it concerns war. I live in a country where we recently had some civil unrest and I saw how it was presented, or more to the point, misrepresented on the international news. In another case, here in Thailand during the Tsunami and a close friend who is American, was volunteering to locate and bag dead bodies in Phuket. A Fox News crew showed up and asked him to run about and essentially put on an act for the camera. He was stunned and could not believe his ears. Naturally he told them where to go.

maryland71
maryland71
13 years ago

that is so true lol

XPAPAR
XPAPAR
13 years ago

CmCF LOL I was thinking EXACTLY the same thing. I don't send Alex Jones stuff to people much as he becomes non listen-able after 5-10 mins. I can send this one to my Mum and know she will watch it!

420 Vision
420 Vision
13 years ago

Well, well, is the main stream media attempting to divert our attention from reality ? Say it isn't so,.. Oh my F**king God !

Jane
Jane
13 years ago

What is most unreal about this is the possibility that the US military (a) used illegal weapons (cluster and napalm like bombs), and (b) targeted non-embedded journalists. Westerners grow up believing we, at the least, play fair and tend to the good but it would seem what we have really learned best is how to close our eyes and minds to the real harm our governments and institutions inflict on others and, in the end, on us.

TruthSeeker1st
TruthSeeker1st
13 years ago

"It's Operation Iraqie Liberation tell me what does that spell? OIL" ha ha great song!

Eff
Eff
13 years ago

"Blow up your TV throw away your papers..." John Prine. Most people are suckers for deception and propaganda That's what keeps America Almighty. Luckily I am better read and not influenced by the tainted media. This documentary informed me what I already knew... Money and Power controls the capitalistic world we live in. Its time for a Global revolution. Bring out the guillotine...

Natalia
Natalia
14 years ago

brilliant documentary. thank you!

Alejandro
Alejandro
14 years ago

Only wish TV programs were like this!!!
I think this is a brilliant piece of work, thanks for shearing it.

Iraq Was Free anyway
Iraq Was Free anyway
14 years ago

some biased point of view shown n shouted out of every fridge aint right. it just cant be - its all black n white - u absorb what SOMEONE wants u to...is that what YOU choose?

InsertSloganHere
InsertSloganHere
14 years ago

You can't form a reasonable understanding about any issue without having access to accurate and relevant information. I feel that the media is controlled by too few people, who make decisions based primarily on monetary and political concerns, and that they do the public a tremendous disservice by providing us with inaccurate and irrelevant information, suppressing facts and restricting the boundaries of debate. I think that for most people, education continues through adulthood primarily by way of television, newspapers, magazines, radio and movies. There aren't many who regularly read non-fiction books on subjects of great importance such as information dissemination, and they can hardly be blamed for their ignorance, their blind faith and their patriotism. They want to create nations of obedient consumers, not intellectual activists, and they're doing a great job of it.

eddie
eddie
14 years ago

great doc. shows how news media is controlled by political and financial motives...

WTC7
WTC7
14 years ago

We always fall for it... We always buy the deception... We just love it... as long as it's presented well... We are treated like idiots.... But, we don't deserve any better...

Stuart Roth
Stuart Roth
14 years ago

Nice to know George Bush was right afterall. The liberal agenda lost and once again proved IDIOT's

Bklyn
Bklyn
14 years ago

Great video!...I feel like doing away with television all together since it's so censored. I beg to ask the question what happens when they censor what we do on the Internet?

Devin W
Devin W
14 years ago

Bush senior "we've kicked Vietnam syndrome once and for all" followed by applause...

joebanana
joebanana
14 years ago

Not much mention about "operation mockingbird", although, still a good, informative, piece.

CMcF
CMcF
14 years ago

This is one of the best documenteries I've seen yet on this topic. This is what journalism is all about. I really like it's objective and rational tone. Kinda like if Alex Jones took a qualude.