Most of the dissenting media in their reports and news, by using some methods of fallacy, seek to induce some ideas about the Iranian elections.
Coinciding with the start of the 13th presidential election in Iran, the Western media, as in previous days, has put on the agenda a psychological war to reduce participation in the voting or to instill despair about this event.
In general, it can be said that most of the dissident media in their reports and news, by resorting to some methods of deception, try to ignore or diminish the voice of a part of the society and instead make alternative voices.
In the following report, we analyze the content of some of the dominant axes in Western media reports. The basis of this analysis has been the print media, but it can probably be assumed that the same policies are followed in the television or radio programs of these media.
The ineffectiveness of the election
For example, among the print media on the Bloomberg News Network website, “No one expects fundamental change in the Iranian regime: “Voters, however, choose their option from a short list of candidates approved by the Guardian Council.” The media also claims that the President of Iran has little influence on the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic.
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE / RL) also wrote without reference to any specific figures, that some Iranians have decided not to run in this year’s presidential election due to the limited power of election officials and their inability to deliver on their promises.
The result is clear in advance
Although the candidates in the Iranian election campaign are of different intellectual spectrums and tendencies, and each has its own supporters, many Western media outlets, in the midst of their analysis, maneuver that the election result is already in favor of a particular candidate or candidates.
For example, the website of Siwan News Network wrote: “Many in Iran are complaining about what they think is a highly engineered election.” The network quoted a 22-year-old who did not mention his name as saying: “I wont vote. I do not think that doing so will have any effect on the situation in the country. “We already know the result.”
The CNN Network did not specify what percentage of public opinion represented the person selected for sampling – if it were real -, what criteria were used for the interview, and why a person who might have a dissenting opinion judged the outcome.
AFP also described the outcome of the Iranian election as “predetermined.” FarnaFarz also claims that the presidential election in Iran is not competitive and that the victory of one of the candidates is already known. The BBC state media follows the same line in its analysis and reports.
Dissatisfaction and inefficiency
“Dissatisfaction and inefficiency have left people without hope in this election and therefore not voting.” This is another topic that is often covered in the psychological warfare of the Western media, without mentioning that people may have decided to vote for another way of thinking in order to overcome dissatisfaction and grievances.
For example, Reuters wrote in a report: “Many Iranians are expected to disregard ballot boxes amid economic hardship and calls for boycotts of elections at home and abroad.”
Encourage non-participation
The idea that, along with all the above ideas, the Western media is seeking to instill is that the Iranian people should not or will not run in the elections. Iran International, BBC, CNN, FoxNews, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, VOA, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, RFE / RL, and many other American media outlets in recent days has been used against the Iranian elections.