A Trifecta of Rotten Journalism (July 11, 1951)
| Arash Norouzi |
“Pearson in my opinion is the most contemptible, dishonest, and dishonorable smear propagandist in America, and by inference the most colossal liar in the United States.” — Rep. James H. Morrison (1943)
“Pearson makes his living by making sensational lying statements about men in high office. He actually makes his living that filthy way. He ought to have the contempt of every honest man.” — Sen. Kenneth McKellar (1944)
You may find this hard to believe, but not everything in Drew Pearson’s widely syndicated column The Washington Merry-Go-Round was accurate.
Pearson’s July 11, 1951 column included a most incredible “scoop” — a completely fabricated allegation about the Iranian Deputy Prime Minister under the heading “Potent Regulator”.
Hossein Fatemi, he wrote (badly misspelling his name), was secretly a four-time convicted criminal. The public wouldn’t know this, however, because, like a ruthless mob boss, Fatemi had managed to have all news coverage violently suppressed. Scandalous, if true.
There’s probably no way of knowing Pearson’s motivation for his defamatory attack. But there’s more suspiciousness to this sordid episode...
On the very same day, Pearson’s lies were offered to readers word-for-word as an original editorial, usually titled “Iranian Politics”, in numerous newspapers. No reference to Pearson.
The fact that this fake news was also reproduced simultaneously suggests a coordinated smear campaign that went beyond Pearson alone, comprising a trifecta of rotten journalism: libel, plagiarism, and pure propaganda!
IRANIAN POLITICS
While Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh is taking over the vital Iranian oil fields, his No. 1 assistant, Dr. Husain Fatimi, is secretly on trial for misappropriating funds.
This is the fourth time Fatimi has been caught by the police, and though condemned by various courts, he continues to be the man who’s masterminding the whole Middle East oil crisis.
Dr. Fatimi has so much influence that he’s even been able to suppress news of his own trial. Organized thugs raided “Sidayi Viton” on June 23 which mentioned that Fatimi was on trial, and destroyed every issue.
Yet he’s the man who will eventually decide whether the United States has gas rationing—or possibly, whether the American people go into World War III. The whole world is walking on the razor edge that divides peace from war—and a man in Iran may make the final decision.
Newspapers who ran this editorial under their masthead included:
The Emporia Gazette (Emporia, Kansas), July 11, 1951
The Winona Republican Herald (Winona, Minnesota), July 11, 1951
The Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune (Chillicothe, Missouri), July 11, 1951
The St. Joseph Gazette (St. Joseph, Missouri), July 11, 1951
The Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan), July 11, 1951
The Argus-Leader (Sioux Falls, South Dakota), July 11, 1951 (title: One Man May Plunge World Into New War)
Related links:
Mossadegh Wants Money | August 18, 1952 editorial
Mossadeq’s Spy Service | Vicious CIA Propaganda (1953)
Mossadegh Quits | The New York Times, July 18, 1952
MOSSADEGH t-shirts — “If I sit silently, I have sinned”
