Does the CIA influence Australian Media?

The CIA Coup in Australia

The Cia influence Goverments around the world.   John Pilger has made a convincing case that the CIA successfully launched a soft coup against the Whitlam labour Government in 1975.  It did so with a great deal of help from the Murdoch  media who actively sought to undermine Whitlam from the time of his election.

Whitlam presented a clear and present danger to established corporate power and American military power.  The US alliance and the facility at Pine Gap were called in to question.  He had to be dealt with by the powers that be and he was.  His political execution was swift and ruthless.  You could say he was a little more fortunate than JFK.  However, he was removed from power and a more acceptable Goverment was installed.

To my mind, democracy in Australia died on that day.  It has never been restored.

If you do a little digging you’ll find CIA links to many Austalian politicians including Labour icons like Bob Hawke who was said to be a CIA asset while being ACTU President.  Any Australian politician who reports to a foreign power is a traitor to his country.  Any politician who allows foreign interests to be put ahead of our own is a traitor.  

Australia has been America’s poodle ever since 1975.  We are. in essence a vassal state and no one, least of all the media seems to care.

Project Mockingbird

Project Mockingbird is a program by the CIA to install operatives into the press to disseminate information that was in line with what the CIA wanted.  You can doubt the veracity of this program all you like.  There is evidence in the form of direct quotes from people who should know.

“The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media.” — William Colby, former CIA Director, cited by Dave Mcgowan, Derailing Democracy.

 

“The Agency’s relationship with [The New York] Times was by far its most valuable among newspapers, according to CIA officials. [It was] general Times policy … to provide assistance to the CIA whenever possible.” — The CIA and the Media, by Carl Bernstein.

“We”ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” – William Casey former CIA director.

If that isn’t distrurbing enough, a report to the American congress in 1976  -:

“The CIA currently maintains a network of several hundred foreign individuals around the world who provide intelligence for the CIA and at times attempt to influence opinion through the use of covert propaganda. These individuals provide the CIA with direct access to a large number of newspapers and periodicals, scores of press services and news agencies, radio and television stations, commercial book publishers, and other foreign media outlets.”

Suffice to say that Australia would not be considered immune to such activities.  The problem is this – how can you even begin to spot CIA influence in Australia and who might be compromised in the media?  They’re not going to advertise the fact. You can only judge media commentators, publications and programs by their actions.

Spotting CIA influence in Australian Media.

Let’s start with an obvious one.

Washington Post syndication.

Jeff Bezos is the owner of the Washington Post.  He bought the paper for $250 million dollars in 2013.   The paper like almost all print publications is struggling.  In 2012 it made a loss of $57 million dollars.  Commentators dismissed the purchase as “a hobby purchase.”

Shortly after that, Bezos’ main company, Amazon, signed a cloud computing deal with the CIA worth $600 million.  What’s more, Amazon stated publicly that it “looked forward to a successful relationship with the CIA.”

Do I need to spell it out?  Bezos and the Washington Post are hopelessly conflicted. 

Of course, an independent publication, mindful of its readership and careful to provide a balanced view of the world would be wary of this arrangement.  Syndication of articles from this entity would be frowned upon.

It’s very strange that the Fairfax flagship  newspapers, the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald syndicate all their US political commentary from the Washington Post.  This from the newspaper that proclaims on its masthead “Independent Always.”

I have contacted the Age for comment in this regard and did not receive a reply.

Their involvement with the WaPo could simply be sloppy or it could be something more sinister.

Where else can we look?

Use of the term conspiracy theory

It was the CIA itself that coined the use of the term “conspiracy theory.”  Initially  to denigrate analysis of the government narrative . Specifically in relation to the Kennedy assasination.  To be called a conspiracy theorist is to be shunned and ridiculed.

Recent reports in this country about the release of new JFK files  often led with the term “conspiracy theorists.”  This in itself, is not enough to accuse a reporter or news outlet of CIA influence.  However, when the report only references “experts” who subscribe to the official story, you start to wonder.  You can see this in action by viewing the hopelessly lopsided analysis on the ABC’s 7.30 report

This doesn’t mean necessarily that the presenter Leigh Sales is a CIA asset.   It does call into question the independenceof the ABC when it seems at pains to go along with the CIA version of events.

Again I contacted the ABC for comment and did not receive a reply.  (I like writing that)

Controlling the Narrative.

Australia’s complicity in the Iraq war is horrendous.  The media’s complicity in reporting and whitewashing facts is doubly so.  You can do your own research to find the journalists who cheered along the involvement.  Whether they were swept up in the propaganda themsleves or acting as part of a propaganda arm themselves is debateable.

You could disappear down a rabbit hole of epic proportions if you chose to investigate that shameful episode in our history.

There are more ovbious cases.

Jon Faine’s gleeful assesment that the release of the Kennedy papers debunked conspiracy theories is one example. He did so some  hours after the  initial release, failing to mention that many documents were still withheld.

Chris Uhlmann’s amazing assessment of Trump at a G20 conference another.  Uhlmann literally pines for “American leadership”.  Call me cynical but I found the viral news storm that followed his assessment just a little fishy.  Uhlmann by the way, has been quoted as justifyng the CIA’s collusion with the Khmer Rouge . In fact, the entire Crikey article paints a picture of a journalist that would be putty in the hands of the CIA.

In both cases, there is no evidence that Faine or Uhlmann are CIA assets.  Their behaviour at various times does beg the question – who are they working for?

It Isn’t Just the Left Media.

I have focussed on what may be broadly termed left leaning media outlets.  That’s becaue I find them generally to give more substantial reporting than Murdoch publications or commercial media outlets.   As such, I’m generally more aware of what they report.

In my introduction I alluded to the substantial role that the Murdoch press played in the undermining of the Whitlam government.

There is little doubt that Rupert Murdoch has close connections to the CIA  Undoubtedly, some of his journalists are also conflicted.  A case in point was Greg Sheridan’s obsessive attack upon Gough Whitlam’s charcter on the day of his death.  If one didn’t no better one would think that Sheridan was determined to squash any acknowledgenent of Whitlam’s contribution to Australia…and of course, any reexamination of events in 1975.

How to Get a Balanced View.

It’s getting harder and harder to find the truth.  As a general rule of thumb, sourcing reliable independent media columnists is a good place to start.  In Australia, there are some very good publications, New Matilda and Crikey to name two.

Internationally, I source information from a variety of channels including HA Goodman, Caitlyn Johnstone, Hard Bastard and Chris Simpson.    They are all independent and I trust them.  I can’t say the same for mainstream media.

Do your own research and learn to critically analyse all media reports.