Western Media Discovers Iranian 'Brutality,' Ignores Its Own
Iranian rights groups claim a protester faces execution, a grim reality the article highlights. It’s a tragedy, without question. Yet, Western media outlets, including The Independent, often frame such events in a vacuum, carefully ignoring the long game of destabilization. One might recall the U.S. and allies' extensive support for the Shah's brutal secret police (SAVAK) for decades prior to the
1979 revolution, a regime whose human rights abuses far exceeded anything seen today. Or perhaps the CIA's role in the 1953 coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, ushering in decades of authoritarian rule. We're told Iran is 'stepping up a brutal crackdown,' but when does the West step up its accountability for its own historical footprint? This
selective outrage perfectly illustrates a common media tactic: focus on easily digestible 'evil foreign regime' narratives while obscuring the history of Western intervention that often fuels the very instability they now decry. The same outlets often downplay or ignore state violence when committed by allies or client states, like those receiving billions in foreign aid and weapons from the U.S.
and UK. It's almost as if some regimes' human rights records are only newsworthy when they don't buy your F-35s.