Most Americans Oppose War. But Media Promotes War Hawks

Israel and Trump’s war on Iran is deeply unpopular with the American people — numerous polls show lop-sided opposition,  making the Iran War the most unpopular war in the history of polling (since about the 1950s). Notably, wars are popular at the beginning, but the unprovoked war on Iran — with no clear goals or exit strategy — has been unpopular from the get-go.

This anti-war consensus is, however, not reflected in much of the corporate media, where pro-war voices are as plentiful as they are unrepresentative. This past week, our two leading newspapers, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, both ran guest op-eds cheering the war from individuals at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy (FDD).

In our article tracking the pro-Israel and defense contractor money flowing into DC’s think tanks, we noted that FDD is a neo-con outfit that was founded as an Israel advocacy organization. FDD has been calling for war with Iran for decades. The White House also appears to be taking its talking points from FDD:

It is no surprise that the pro-Israel, neo-con Wall Street Journal editorial page (its latest editorial below calls for the Arab nations to join the war) has been running countless editorials and op-eds supporting the war, but the New York Times presents itself as the voice of liberal America, where the war has almost no purchase. 

Too much of the press is platforming pro-war because corporate media centers elite voices, and elites in DC are more likely to support wars and foreign intervention than the average American. Much of the corporate media seeks out “experts” at DC’s think tanks, which exist to amplify the voice of their donors, who are often defense contractors. Even though Americans are exhausted with endless wars, too much of the media — secure from the burdens of war — remains out of touch.