Mainstream Media Predicts Iran's Execution Rate… for Next Year?
When The New Arab reports that 'Iran executed a record 1,500 people in 2025,' attributed to a 'Norway-based Iran Human Rights group,' one might applaud their prescience—or perhaps question the journalistic rigor. The original headline clearly states '2025,' (which is next year, for those keeping score), followed by content quoting the NGO speaking in future tense about predicted increases. Yet the
headline leads with a definitive past-tense statement. Conveniently, they quickly corrected to '2024' after initial publication, proving that even so-called 'new' news can be… a bit premature. This kind of oopsie-daisy, while seemingly minor, allows for swift narrative manipulation before facts can catch up. While rights groups track grim statistics, the speed with which the Western press latches
onto any negative narrative regarding Iran, often with unverified or poorly sourced information, is striking. Contrast this urgent 'future-reporting' with the glacial pace of mainstream media attention to, say, the US providing cluster munitions to Israel (Biden approved this, August 2023, per Washington Post ), or the devastating human cost of the Saudi-led war in Yemen, largely enabled by
Western arms. It appears some human rights violations are more 'newsworthy' than others, especially when they fit neatly into pre-approved geopolitical scripts. How many 'record' executions will occur before The New Arab proofreads a headline?