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eridani

(51,907 posts)
Tue Sep 9, 2014, 01:53 PM Sep 2014

LA Times Reporter Caught Falsifying Articles with CIA

http://www.nationofchange.org/la-times-reporter-caught-falsifying-articles-cia-1410186373

In violation of journalistic ethics and the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, former Los Angeles Times reporter Ken Dilanian allowed CIA handlers to edit his articles prior to publication and reported false information to manipulate his audience. Responding to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, the CIA released hundreds of pages documenting the agency’s dubious relationship with national security reporters. Operating under a glaring lack of oversight, the CIA has been exploiting establishment journalists since its inception.

The newly released documents cover Dilanian’s correspondence with the CIA from March to July 2012. In his emails, Dilanian repeatedly broke ethical guidelines by submitting his articles to the CIA allowing them to alter facts in order to portray the agency in a more favorable light. Receiving false intelligence from the CIA, Dilanian reported a drone strike had successfully killed Al Qaeda leader Abu Yahya al-Libi without causing any collateral damage. According to Amnesty International and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, at least 20 people were killed in the attack and several more wounded. Although some of the casualties had probably been Al Qaeda members, the other victims were rescue workers slaughtered in a follow-up drone strike.

While collaborating on an article with L.A. Times reporter David Cloud, Dilanian submitted a draft asking his CIA handlers to approve the version before it went to print. Dissatisfied with the earlier draft, the CIA later approved a softened version of the article that Dilanian and Cloud published on May 16. While collaborating with L.A. Times reporter Rebecca Keegan, Dilanian downplayed the CIA’s participation in leaking classified information to director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal for their factually inaccura
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LA Times Reporter Caught Falsifying Articles with CIA (Original Post) eridani Sep 2014 OP
Portraying the CIA in a "favorable light" is like polishing a turd. Tierra_y_Libertad Sep 2014 #1
I always wondered where Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum ended up Brother Buzz Sep 2014 #2
Corruption, secret government, propaganda... woo me with science Sep 2014 #3
+1 Corruption from sea to shining sea. Enthusiast Sep 2014 #5
someone should probably FOIA all correspondances with the media Blue_Tires Sep 2014 #4
Kicked and recommended! The purpose of the CIA is to lie............to us. Enthusiast Sep 2014 #6
Has Michael Hastings' death been properly investigated? JDPriestly Sep 2014 #7
k and r. bbgrunt Sep 2014 #8
kick woo me with science Sep 2014 #9
kick woo me with science Sep 2014 #10

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
4. someone should probably FOIA all correspondances with the media
Tue Sep 9, 2014, 03:25 PM
Sep 2014

Greenwald included....Might just turn up something interesting....

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
6. Kicked and recommended! The purpose of the CIA is to lie............to us.
Tue Sep 9, 2014, 04:21 PM
Sep 2014

In a democratic society the CIA should not even exist.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
7. Has Michael Hastings' death been properly investigated?
Tue Sep 9, 2014, 04:33 PM
Sep 2014

Other national security reporters who corresponded with the CIA during this timeframe include Brian Bennett of the L.A. Times, David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Matt Apuzzo of The New York Times, Siobhan Gorman of The Wall Street Journal, Adam Goldman of The Washington Post, and Scott Shane of The New York Times.

Following the suspicious death of Buzzfeed reporter Michael Hastings, Robin Abcarian of the L.A. Times reported Hastings had been investigating CIA Director John Brennan at the time of his demise. Within hours, her colleague Brian Bennett contradicted her story claiming Hastings had been researching Florida socialite Jill Kelley instead. A few days later, L.A. Times reporter Andrew Blankstein debunked Bennett’s article and confirmed Hastings had been investigating CIA Director John Brennan when he died in a fiery explosion. Although Bennett’s article is full of false information, the editorial staff has refused to make any corrections.

As a contributing editor for Rolling Stone in 2011, Michael Hastings revealed Lt. Gen. William Caldwell had been illegally deploying psychological operations (psy-ops) against U.S. Senators visiting Afghanistan. According to the Defense Department, psy-ops utilize propaganda and psychological tactics to influence emotions and behaviors on hostile foreign groups. Federal law has forbidden the military from practicing psy-ops on Americans since the passage of the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948. But a provision in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) overturned parts of the Smith-Mundt Act by authorizing propaganda produced by the State Department and Broadcasting Board of Governors to be used against U.S. citizens.

http://www.nationofchange.org/la-times-reporter-caught-falsifying-articles-cia-1410186373

I'm not suggesting that we should draw conclusions, but I that story sort of dropped off the face of the earth. Was Hastings drunk at the time of his death? What is the story on that?

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