Bahrain Propaganda 101: Foreign Minister Gets a Boost from Washington's Journalists
Friday, October 28, 2011 at 9:35
On Wednesday, during a talk by Bahraini activist Maryam Al Khawaja, I ventured the comment that the "success" of the Bahraini regime's propaganda effort would not come through social media, where its supporters' efforts have become a source of annoyance at "trolling" or of comedy. Nor was Bahrain's monarchy getting much value of the US and British PR firms who, for quite expensive contracts, were trying to dress up State press releases as "news" and putting out clumsy opinion pieces on The Huffington Post.
Instead, I suggested, the "success" would come through mainstream Washington journalists. Sometimes this is through the re-cycling of the regime's claims, citing unnamed sources --- see the recent effort by David Ignatius of The Washington Post. Sometimes, it is the attempt by a regime official to use an article as a podium for the right line.
Josh Rogin of Foreign Policy magazine gives us an example of the latter with his "Bahrain Foreign Minister on DC Charm Offensive"....