US - Iran Peace agreement Part 3

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https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/conflict-in-the-middle-east/5535141-us-iran-peace-agreement-part-2https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/conflict-in-the-middle-east/5535141-us-iran-peace-agreement-part-2

Far more likely to be "propagandized" if you over rely on "independent media" which is not as transparent in its bias as mainstream media is.

It's easy to check the bias of mainstream media (if it's not 100% obvious) via sites like Media Check Bias. We all know though where the bias lies of organisations such as the BBC, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent etc - which is why it's so important to read a range of media sources.

Those that rely instead on independent media should recognise that they will not be unbiased either and they don't have the same editorial standards that bigger media are obliged to abide by. Some of you on here really do come across as being completely biased against the West and not even aware of it. And yes, I do understand you will think the same about me but at least I do read a range of sources both left wing and right wing and recognise my own pro West bias.

I rely on your summaries re the Telegraph @Twiglets1 because of the paywall.

I don't trust them much on other issues

Guardian, BBC, Sky all covered the funeral with live blogs.

International media is also hit and miss, it helps to cross reference.

The overall consensus does seem that Trump has no way out with his ill planned war.

Actually, it's not a free world. If you live in a free country you are in a minority. Something like 75% of the world's population live under authoritarian governments.

And that includes all of the Gulf area. That is one of the reasons accurate news is hard to get on this war.

There is also the small matter of accuracy and factual reporting that applies to the likes of TV news. Section 5 of Ofcom.

Section five: Due impartiality and due accuracy (ofcom.org.uk)

The newspapers have similar rules, but I can't remember what they are called.

Independent social media based news operate outside of that.

Where? I have never see a single story that has made that claim.

Well that's chilling. Are you supportive of any dictator who isn't called Trump or Netanyahu?

Yes independent social media companies do operate outside of such rules, that's why discernment and critical analysis is required by the reader.

Take the BBC specifically it's Middle East editor Raffi Berg, he sued Owen Jones after Jones wrote the following article where 13 journalists spoke about the lack of impartiality under Berg's leadership.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/bbc-civil-war-gaza-israel-biased-coverage

"His report is based on interviews with 13 journalists and other BBC staffers who offer remarkable insights into how senior figures within the BBC’s news operation skewed stories in favor of Israel’s narratives and repeatedly dismissed objections registered by scores of staffers who, throughout the past 14 months, demanded that the network uphold its commitment to impartiality and fairness. Jones’s investigation of the BBC has three main components: a deeply reported look into the internal complaints from BBC journalists, a quantitative assessment of how the BBC characterizes the year-long siege on Gaza, and a review of the histories of the people behind the coverage—and, in particular, one editor, Raffi Berg."

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/high-court-rules-favour-journalist-owen-jones-libel-case

Or CBS news, now newly owned by the Ellisons and shifting it's reporting accordingly.

https://www.npr.org/2025/09/12/nx-s1-5537152/cbs-news-ellison-steps-appease-trump

So anything published should always be read taking that into account biases.

I understand why people are suspicious of the Telegraph, they do have an obvious right wing bias.

However, they do also get some good information and report it sometimes better than other sources. I discovered that during Covid, when they were more factual/less emotive than most other media sources.

I find their reporting of the Gaza war and Iran war to be good in a factual sense. They have their own bias (mainly in the stories they choose to post) but so does every source. I find the Guardian more biased and also Al Jazeera, even the BBC. But I read all of them.

You use the Telegraph a lot for threads you start so yes I guessed you like them.

I appreciate the c&p on these threads, just that parts do get lost when you can't read the full article. But that applies to all paywalled sources.And we are all guilty of selective c&p.

I have no issue with that.

I appreciate that parts get lost when people can't read the whole article. But I try to be fair in copy and pasting all the bits that are relevant to the thread title or the point being discussed if I link to an article half way through a thread.

The articles are often too long to copy and past the whole thing and assume people would switch off from reading if it's more than about 4 paragraphs long. I know I never read MN posts when the copy and paste bits are too long and on skimming can see that half of the information is not even relevant to the topic currently under discussion.

I know! I was referring back to Twiglets previous comment and calling her out on the fact that she had just contradicted herself.

I was talking about the UK.

I said It's a free world isn't it? Where I am, anyway.

And have always been transparent about living in the UK.

Edited to add: though what I also meant in this context was we're free on Mumsnet to post what we want, within site rules anyway.

I assume you mean the fact that he had his bank accounts frozen and has been sanctioned by the EU for telling the truth or, at least, the truth from his own experience. Similar has happened to the very courageous Francesca Albanese.
So much for freedom of speech in the EU! And yes, it is chilling.

I had to google him @KeeperOfTheSevenKeys but he sounds charming.

The former Swiss colonel was sanctioned by the EU on December 15 for his pro-Russian positions and statements as a “strategic analyst” and guest on various TV and radio programmes. Baud, who has been in Brussels for almost two months, has accused Kyiv of provoking the invasion by Russia in order to join NATO.

Brussels has granted a humanitarian exemption to Jacques Baud, a former Swiss colonel who has been sanctioned by the European Union for promoting conspiracy narratives and false claims about the war in Ukraine.

Baud confirmed the development, With this humanitarian exemption, I have the right to access my bank account for essential needs,” said the former Swiss intelligence officer.

www.swissinfo.ch/eng/foreign-affairs/from-brussels-humanitarian-exemption-for-jacques-baud/90912101

I know that Twigs. I was calling you out for hypocricy. You can't talk about free speech in the UK and then make a personal attack on me, saying that you hope I don't live in the UK, simply because I have a different opinion to your own. That's not free speech is it! I thought you had already understood but perhaps not!

Tbf saying you hope someone doesn't live in the UK isn't very nice and uncalled for.

but within site rules.

The ability to critically analyse is important whichever sources you look at. As @BelleHathor, a lot of people who are extremely knowledgable have been banned-see John Mearsheimer's comment and Chomsky's book, which I have not read.

I'm sure that MN would remove it as a personal attack if it was reported. They have removed comments that are much more benign. Anyway, I don't care and won't be reporting it.

I think this is an example of "fuzzy" news. From the CNN feed.

"UK Navy reports incident involving tanker and military forces
By Tim Lister and Ibrahim Dahman
The UK Navy has reported an incident Friday in the Gulf of Oman involving a commercial vessel and “military forces.”
In a bulletin issued Saturday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it had “received a report of an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman. Vessels are advised to consider the latest maritime security information and maintain awareness of the evolving operational environment.”
Last week, a similar notice was issued after the United States Navy intercepted and boarded a ship in the Gulf of Oman.
US Central Command has not commented on any interceptions Friday."

I am not blaming CNN for the news being "fuzzy". They can only report what they are told. And the various actors are not saying much.

And here we have THE UK NAVY involved in something. So we will have to wait and see what the UK government say. Will they tell us, or will they handwave it away as the WH do.

And yes. I am aware of operational considerations.

By the way. And it is connected. Did everyone see Trumps Executive order yesterday ? Ordering new signage put up beside displays in the Smithsonian. To make sure his version of history is told ?

Another example of the WH deciding what the "facts" should be. This is quite a read. And this is the guy running a war.

Restoring Trust in the Smithsonian Institution – The White House

It is extremely fuzzy, as the incident just reported that occurred yesterday was:

"American forces disabled the M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to run the blockade at least four times, Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, told The Associated Press. Hawkins stressed that the ship's crew was warned and didn't comply with commands. The military then fired into its engine room. It's the second commercial ship to be disabled since the military reimposed its blockade. U.S. Central Command said it also has redirected 12 vessels"

However to find that news, I had to specifically search for Hawkins and Associated Press!

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-military-says-it-fired-on-another-vessel-trying-to-breach-its-blockade-of-iranian-ports

I don't think it's that one. This is a new one today.

I did report it and was told it isn't a personal attack but a disagreement/different perspective . It was quite a detailed reply, usually I get the 'we will look into it'

I still think comments like that are below the belt.

But let's leave it at that, this thread gets derailed far too often, by me as well.

Thanks, There's just so much going on right now on all the fronts.

Bloody Aramco is Saudi Arabia was on fire earlier, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-25/houthis-claim-missile-strike-on-saudi-arabia/106958410

What truth has he told that he has banned for?

Actually no. My error. The CNN article was referring to the UKMTO as being the UK Navy. So you correct, me wrong.