"The media is making fun of Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Said Al Sahhaf, calling him the 'minister of mis-information'. Al Qassem blasted most of the Western media saying "they parroted the official line of their governments". "Our job is to report the facts as they are not to be mouthpieces for different ideologies," he said.Īll three speakers agreed that the Arab media emerged in a better light during the war compared to their western counterparts.ĭr. He accused the Arab masses of venting their frustrations on their media, "expecting us to conjure miracles and change the situation in the Middle East". Ismail refuted the accusations and described his station as unbiased and as a harbinger of truth. A member of the audience described Al Arabiya as "another Radio Sawa", the Cyprus-based U.S.-funded station, which many in the region view as a propaganda tool for the Americans. Al Qassem described Iraqis as "sitting ducks".įadi Ismail, from the Dubai-based Al Arabiya, had to defend his station from the charges of being a "pro-American mouthpiece". That's more than the defence budgets of the rest of the world put together."ĭr. defence budget is about $400 billion a year. "America spends more on defence than any country in the world," he pointed out. Faisal Al Qassem, anchor of the controversial programme Al Itijah Al Muakess (Opposite Direction) on the Doha-based Al Jazeera, questioned the logic of those who would believe Iraq stood even a slim chance of victory. The Americans had invaded Baghdad, but one Arabic channel was showing a commentator who was refuting this fact, claiming the Americans could never enter Baghdad," said one Iraqi member of the audience.ĭr.
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"You gave us the impression that Iraq was winning the war. Representatives from three leading Arab television news channels were put on the hot seat to field questions from the public, comprising mainly Iraqis.
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Arab media came under fire for leading viewers into believing Iraq would win the U.S.-led war at a seminar held at the American University in Sharjah yesterday.