Western Media Reliance on Unverified Sources for Iran Coverage Raises Questions
According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, Western media‘s reliance on unverified sources for Iran-related news has come under scrutiny. A report by Al-Mayadeen highlights how prominent outlets such as The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, and The New York Times often depend on Iranian ‘human rights’ organizations funded by the US, despite claims of independence.
These outlets frequently cite HRANA, a Virginia-based entity, for protest statistics in Iran. HRANA asserts financial independence but is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an organization established to obscure CIA financing. Between 2012 and 2015, HRANA received $10.7 million from NED.
Similarly, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, another Western-cited source, portrays itself as ‘independent and non-partisan.’ However, its founder and executive director drew over $200,000 in salary last year—nearly double their 2013 earnings—funded by US taxpayers. In 2009, the director denied receiving US government or NED funding, yet the organization has promoted military intervention in Iran under the guise of ‘humanitarian intervention’ and supported the expulsion of Iranian academics in the US for questioning Mossad’s role.
The report questions the credibility of anonymous ‘activists’ cited in Western media, asking: Who funds them? Where do they operate? What are their political objectives? It concludes that these entities are not independent human rights networks but interconnected structures financed by US government fronts.
