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THE RHODES TO HUFFPOST
Exposing the Huffington Post’s use of lies, deception,
bias and anti-Semitism to sell help “sell” the Iran “deal”
By Jon Sutz, June 22, 2016
Summary
The Huffington Post (“HuffPost”) is the world’s most widely read online newspaper. It has built one of the largest news rooms in America, with hundreds of journalists, researchers and editors. Its senior executives have repeatedly claimed that it has “rigorous editorial policies and standards… to ensure that we maintain the highest level of journalistic integrity,” and so it can fulfill its mission to “ferret out the truth, consequences be damned,” in a nonpartisan fashion.
Given all these assets and principles, HuffPost was well-positioned to provide the world with accurate, contextual and objective reporting on the Obama administration’s efforts to negotiate the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program (per his promise in the 2012 presidential debate).
Instead, as this report documents, HuffPost:
- Embarked in mid-2013 on what amounted to a “propaganda jihad” of lies, deception, bias and anti-Semitism to help “sell” the progressively watered-down “deal.”
- Engaged in a scorched-Earth campaign of vicious, lie-filled attacks against anyone who dared to criticize or oppose the Iran “deal.”
- Used its unrivaled reach and influence to globally project the provable lies that had been conjured up within the “war room” that we recently discovered had been constructed within the White House, to “sell” the Iran “deal.”
- Essentially ignored the discovery of this “war room,” after its architect, Ben Rhodes, began boasting in May 2016 about how he and the administration had created an “echo chamber” of uninformed, gullible “journalists” and supportive “experts,” to dupe the American people and the U.S. Congress into supporting the “deal. For as he openly admitted:
“I’d prefer a sober, reasoned public debate, after which members of Congress reflect and take a vote. But that’s impossible.”
This report is based on a massive amount of physical and open-source documentation, much of which is contained on this page:
THE RHODES TO HUFFPOST: Resources & Evidence
The Ben Rhodes expose’
On the morning of May 6, 2016, the Washington Free Beacon published an initial analysis of startling revelations contained in an upcoming New York Times Magazine interview with White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.
In the coming hours and days, through other detailed analyses, we learned that Rhodes openly admitted that he, Obama and others in the White House perpetrated the following acts over at least a three-year period, to “sell” the Iran nuclear “deal”:
- Repeatedly lied to and deceived the American people and the world, about the cause, sequence and content of discussions with Iran’s leaders about their nuclear program and related issues.
- Constructed an elaborate propaganda “war room” within the White House, staffed by them and officials from the Departments of State, Defense and Treasury. Together, using their taxpayer-funded salaries and offices, they spoon-fed their claims to a select inner circle of influential journalists. They then referred these “journalists” to a select group of NGOs, think tanks and “experts,” who were paid to support the Iran “deal,” by foundations that are closely aligned with the Obama administration and/or Iran’s “leaders.”
- Created a propaganda “echo chamber” to ensure that to the greatest degree possible, the public information mediums were flooded with messages that they had conjured, and approved: “We had test drives to know who [which journalists and outside groups] was going to be able to carry our message effectively.” Ultimately, according to Rhodes, “We created an echo chamber… journalists [many of whom “literally know nothing”] were saying things that validated what we had given them to say.”
Rhodes declared the American system of self-government, transparency and accountability is over
Rhodes enjoys what insiders refer to as a “mind meld” with Obama, in terms of the synchronicity of their thinking and motivations (“I don’t know anymore where I begin and Obama ends”), and the frequency of their interaction. And according to government insiders, he is been second only to Obama in shaping and guiding U.S. foreign policy. Rhodes justified his and his colleagues’ actions by essentially claiming that, in his view (and presumably, Obama’s), the era of self-government in America is over:
“I’d prefer a sober, reasoned public debate, after which members of Congress reflect and take a vote. But that’s impossible.”
As shocking as this statement is, recall that it is eerily similar to one made by the “architect” of another major Obama administration initiative: the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), who said that because the American voter is so “stupid,” they had to conceal and lie about the reality of it, “or the bill dies.” [1].
Rhodes and Obama “won” – but Iran’s terror regime is the biggest winner of all
In the end, Rhodes and his allies “won,” in terms of successfully “selling” what numerous (actual) experts, and SaveTheWest.com founder Kenneth Abramowitz (1, 2, 3, 4), said may well turn out to be the worst miscalculation in history:
- The U.S. State Department admitted that Iran’s leaders never signed the “deal,” yet America and its allies began and have continued fulfilling their obligations under it.
- The “deal” gave Iran, the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, an estimated $100 billion in cash, normalized trade relations, a (slightly delayed) pathway to nuclear weapons, and the missiles to deliver them (which it says the U.S. is now unable to stop). And its leaders are now bragging about the torrent of cash that is flowing into its treasury, thanks to the lifting of the crippling economic sanctions that the U.S. and allied nations imposed on the terror state, starting in the late 1970s, under President Carter.
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Video of the Iran’s Supreme Leader, Khamenei, leading a public chant of “Death To America!” – during nuclear “negotiations” with the U.S. – here. All these gifts were given to Iran’s leaders despite the fact that throughout these “negotiations,” they (a) repeatedly violated the terms of the “interim deal” and U.N. resolutions, (b) claimed they have a divine mandate to destroy America and Israel, and (c) reiterated their commitment to financially supporting Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups.
- Iran’s leaders were also never held to public account for their proven role in helping Al Qaeda to perpetrate the 9/11 attacks. Or for providing terrorists with the arms and training to murder U.S. soldiers. Or for advertising a $1,000 bounty to anyone who murdered American service members. And they were never forced to compensate the soldiers who were maimed, such as Staff Sgt. Brian Bartlett (video here), or the survivors of those who were murdered, even out of the cash windfall that the “deal” provided them.
The Huffington Post played a leading role in perpetrating this propaganda “echo chamber” on the Internet
According to the NYT expose’ of Ben Rhodes, his propaganda “war room” was obsessed with controlling the online narrative concerning the Iran “deal,” which the author says Rhodes himself had a major part in orchestrating:
Rhodes’s messaging campaign was so effective not simply because it was a perfectly planned and executed example of digital strategy, but also because he was personally involved in guiding the deal itself. […] In the spring of last year, legions of arms-control experts began popping up at think tanks and on social media, and then became key sources for hundreds of often-clueless reporters. “We created an echo chamber,” he admitted, when I asked him to explain the onslaught of freshly minted experts cheerleading for the deal. “They were saying things that validated what we had given them to say.” […]
“All these newspapers used to have foreign bureaus,” he said. “Now they don’t. They call us to explain to them what’s happening in Moscow and Cairo. Most of the outlets are reporting on world events from Washington. The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old, and their only reporting experience consists of being around political campaigns. That’s a sea change. They literally know nothing.”
The article also explains how Rhodes and his “war room” focused the bulk of their efforts on creating and controlling the narrative on the Internet, as online news is rapidly eclipsing, and ultimately driving the content of what is left of the struggling traditional print and broadcast journalism worlds.
While numerous Internet-based allies helped Rhodes and his surrogates to perpetrate this public betrayal (whether by intent, or because they allowed themselves to be misled), one in particular was crucial to this effort, due to its stature as the world’s most-read online news site: the Huffington Post.
With its claimed 130 million monthly readers throughout the world, “HuffPost,” as it is known, played a vital role in perpetuating the propaganda “echo chamber” that Rhodes et al had created. It did this despite publicly insisting for years that it is a “nonpartisan” newspaper, committed only to “maintaining the highest level of journalistic integrity.” Numerous watchdogs, and two recent documentaries produced by SaveTheWest.com (1, 2), proved that these claims are lies.
This special report for SaveTheWest.com, “The Rhodes To HuffPost,” exposes in detail how HuffPost used its unrivaled influence and reach to help “sell” the Iran nuclear “deal,” particularly through the use of lies, deception, bias, and inciting anti-Semitic hatred:
Lies: HuffPost created incendiary headlines and “news” stories that contained demonstrably false allegations, particularly to vilify and discredit critics of the Iran “deal,” while failing to present information that exposed the truth. This was most often manifested in the lie that critics were opposing the “deal” because they instead wanted the U.S. to go to war with Iran.
See the evidence here.
Deception: HuffPost gave top, sustained coverage to editorials attacking critics of the “deal” that were written by people who have been proven to not be credible, while depicting them as nonpartisan “experts.” This included (a) the leader of a group that was known to be lobbying Congress to support the “deal,” and was proven in a U.S. court to be a front group for Iran’s “leaders,” and (b) a convicted pedophile who claimed he solicited sex from underage girls online because he hoped he’d get caught.
See the evidence here.
Bias: HuffPost relentlessly published “deal”-supporting propaganda, while consistently ignoring substantive criticisms and concerns expressed by veteran leaders of America’s national security, military, political and diplomatic circles. It even ignored a video of Vice President Biden openly claiming that these criticisms are legitimate, especially regarding the fact that Iran was likely to use the cash windfall we were about to give it, to fund global terrorism. It also published no stories that revealed the troubling facts about the Iran “deal,” as listed above.
See the evidence here.
Inciting anti-Semitic hatred: HuffPost engaged in a campaign by which to vilify Israel, Jews and particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by creating “news” stories and publishing editorials that relied on incendiary anti-Semitic lies and distortions. At the same time, it effectively acted as a PR agency for Iran’s “leaders,” presenting only positive depictions of them, while ignoring their threats to destroy Israel (and America), and the fact that they were repeatedly violating the terms of the “interim agreement.” HuffPost’s acts in this regard became so egregious that both the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the American Jewish Committee blasted it for overt anti-Semitic bias.
See the evidence here.
These facts may be why HuffPost has published nothing about the substance regarding Rhodes’ statements concerning the Iran “deal,” or the broader, rapidly-expanding scandal, and its world-changing implications. The first and only news item HuffPost published was an article that presented a spat over journalistic practices – three days after the scandal was exposed – which it then removed less than eighteen hours later. Since then, it has not published a single news item about the scandal. (It did, however, publish one editorial filled with attacks and obfuscations, penned by an Obama-supporting Congresswoman,but this was a continuation of its earlier practice.)
HuffPost’s silence on this scandal stands in sharp contrast to the fact that whenever it finds an issue it believes the world should know about, it goes on a “journalistic jihad” with shock headlines, in-depth “reporting,” which can go on for days at a time. Or, when it decides that a story about a celebrity’s nudity, or historic pornography, is worth leaving on its front page for three, four or more days in a row.
In fact, HuffPost devoted more journalistic scrutiny to the that celebrated war hero Chris Kyle (“American Sniper”) embellished his service record (a continuation of its efforts to smear him), than it did to whether or not the American people and their representatives in Congress were lied to about numerous, vital aspects of the Iran “deal.”
See the evidence here.
See the evidence for yourself
See the evidence that validates all of these assertions here. The page to which that link connects contains a massive amount of resources, but it is organized in such a way that all relevant topics can be explored with a mouse-click.
Questions for HuffPost’s parent company, Verizon Communications
We pose the following questions to Lowell C. McAdam, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Verizon Communications, which bought AOL (which owns HuffPost) in 2015:
(1) Do you condone HuffPost’s acts and omissions, in regards to helping to “sell” the Iran “deal,” as documented in this report?
(2) If not, what actions are you going to take to ensure that HuffPost is never again able to perpetrate campaigns of lies, deception, bias and anti-Semitic incitement?
We will post any reply we receive from Mr. McAdam or Verizon.
If you’d like to express your views on the matters documented in this report to Verizon, here’s how. Please be polite and concise.
Verizon Communications, Inc.
1095 Avenue Of The Americas
New York, NY, 10036
212-395-1000
Lowell C. McAdam (bio)
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Verizon’s Office of Ethics and Business Conduct
844-894-8433
Contact page description: “This website may be used to… ask questions, express concerns or report suspected violations of Verizon’s Code of Conduct [or] corporate policies.”
About the report
This report was researched, written and designed by Jon Sutz. The founder and president of SaveTheWest.com, Kenneth Abramowitz, acted as Executive Editor.
For questions or comments, go here, or email info@savethewest.com.
[1] In that case, we learned from Jonathan Gruber, a health economist from MIT, that he and the administration engaged in a campaign of lies and deception about its healthcare reform proposal, because of the “stupidity of the American voter”:
“[I]f you had a law which said that healthy people are going to pay in, you made explicit healthy people pay in and sick people get money, it would not have passed. Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. And basically, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really really critical to get for the thing to pass. Look, I wish Mark was right that we could make it all transparent, but I’d rather have this law than not.”
See videos emerged his admissions here.
(Note: The administration’s denials that Gruber was the architect of the healthcare plan were proven false by recently-disclosed email records.)
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