The power of the press is a solemn responsibility. Lying to the public, advancing a political agenda, tampering with events to provide more sensational stories, are all examples of what we are taught not to do when we are in journalism school. Yet, in this current environment of ideological bigotry and political intolerance, the lies, propaganda, and weaponization of news reporting has become so commonplace that there is a national moniker for it—Fake News. America’s freedom is secured in part by First Amendment guarantees of a free press. When the press, however, abuses that right, tyranny occurs. How is it then that journalists in a closed society are setting the example that American journalists seem to have forgotten?
The UK Guardian reports, “At least two presenters working for the Iranian state broadcaster IRIB have announced they have quit their jobs, with a third saying she quit some time ago after having told lies on behalf of the state for 13 years. Gelare Jabbari apologized in an Instagram post, writing: “It was very hard for me to believe that our people have been killed. Forgive me that I got to know this late. And forgive me for the 13 years I told you lies.” Zahra Khatami quit her role at IRIB, saying: “Thank you for accepting me as anchor until today. I will never get back to TV. Forgive me.” Her fellow anchor Saba Rad said: “Thank you for your support in all years of my career. I announce that after 21 years working in radio and tv, I cannot continue my work in the media. I cannot.””
These resignations, at great personal risk to the journalists are an example of how a true journalist is supposed to behave. For whatever reason, maybe they didn’t know any different or were brainwashed or perhaps they are just now seeing the horrors of their deeds in supporting the propaganda, political intolerance and ideological bigotry of the Ayatollah regime, these reporters are coming clean. Maybe enough was enough. The last full measure of how the regime lied to journalists and the journalists lied to the public hit their conscience in overload. It was how the regime lied about shooting down at Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 aboard, and then for days claimed they knew nothing about it.
The Iranian journalists are on the other end of the tyranny spectrum, finally realizing what they have done for decades. American journalists are all caught up in the passion of their misguided leftist beliefs, so they are at the beginning of ushering in tyranny. Trouble is, with freedom comes responsibility, something the American journalists should learn from their woke Iranian counterparts. The enemies of the state are the purveyors of fake news. Look to Iran, see the future if we don’t change things. As Christ says in John 8:44 of the devil: “When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” We know where the lies come from, and many American journalists are in bondage to the father of the lies they tell. It may be easy to accept the sweet lies leading to tyranny, but it’s always a deadly fight to escape oppression.
