Kill the Messenger: a lesson in thought control
The movie Kill the Messenger dramatizes the story of Gary Webb's encounter with CIA media spin control. It is a rather moderate film compared to the work of Oliver Stone, but it clearly depicts a level of thought control and complicity on the part of American mainstream media outlets. It is worth seeing in theaters for the benefit of some of the topics it brings up. Webb published an expose on CIA involvement in the American urban crack epidemic through its support for the Nicaraguan Contras during the Reagan years.
One of the fascinating aspects of the whole story is how people dismiss the work of Webb because they failed to duplicate his results. One of the aspects of the thought control process was putting words in Webb's mouth that he did not write then saying such assertions could not be verified. The fact checking that was done by the mainstreamers was limited to interviewing CIA public relations officers and an imprisoned narcotics trafficker. The CIA guys made a big deal out of the fact that they were not consulted by Webb when he was working on his expose. The narcotics trafficker denied having spoken with Webb who bribed his way into the prison. It is ironic that Webb was attacked for sourcing stories based on the testimony of drug traffickers, yet the mainstream outlets used the statement of just such a person to try to discredit Webb.
Let this story be a lesson to anyone who considers swimming against the current of a blatantly pro-CIA media establishment. It is also a good lesson in how the first amendment has been marginalized by sycophantic media toadies.
One of the fascinating aspects of the whole story is how people dismiss the work of Webb because they failed to duplicate his results. One of the aspects of the thought control process was putting words in Webb's mouth that he did not write then saying such assertions could not be verified. The fact checking that was done by the mainstreamers was limited to interviewing CIA public relations officers and an imprisoned narcotics trafficker. The CIA guys made a big deal out of the fact that they were not consulted by Webb when he was working on his expose. The narcotics trafficker denied having spoken with Webb who bribed his way into the prison. It is ironic that Webb was attacked for sourcing stories based on the testimony of drug traffickers, yet the mainstream outlets used the statement of just such a person to try to discredit Webb.
Let this story be a lesson to anyone who considers swimming against the current of a blatantly pro-CIA media establishment. It is also a good lesson in how the first amendment has been marginalized by sycophantic media toadies.