As the Iran war escalates, a second conflict is exploding alongside it — a war where journalists are fighting on the front lines to bring live coverage to television.
The problem: Almost no one has been able to get into Iran, an obviously dangerous territory where American and Israeli bombs and drones are destroying buildings and killing people.
At the same time, government censors in the region are clamping down on the media, turning the flow of news into a tightly controlled weapon.
Unlike other armed conflicts where journalists were embedded with U.S. troops and brought in to document casualties and atrocities, censorship is ruling the day even in democratic countries. And it’s outrageous.
While the Pentagon last year banned all but MAGA-friendly outlets that agreed to have their reports approved in advance, and Iran is known to be one of the most heavily censored societies in the world, the most shocking restrictions have been imposed by our allies in Israel.
Bibi Netanyahu’s government is acting in ways blatantly hostile to a free press — arresting reporters and keeping them temporarily locked up for violating military censor rules.
Journalists say the Israelis have barred live broadcasts showing video during Iranian missile attacks — footage that was commonly shown during previous conflicts.
Kasra Naji, a BBC Persian correspondent reporting from Israel, said that there’s a strict blackout. “The Israeli military censor has banned us from making a live report on the situation of airstrikes and when a dangerous emergency occurs. Therefore, we cannot make a live report or show the images behind me. This is a new thing.” The Netanyahu government has even barred footage of the impact of Iranian bombs well after the fact.
Israeli officials say the restrictions are designed to prevent hostile forces from analyzing the effectiveness of their air defense systems.
Yet the Press Freedom Foundation argues that despite these tough conditions, news outlets will find a way “to report the news and investigate government abuses and lies.” But, the organization says, “it’s unrealistic to expect reporters to overcome this multi-pronged attack entirely.”
Amazingly, this includes videos used by news organizations that were taken by Israelis and uploaded to social media sites — the only real alternative to propaganda spoon-fed by the government.
CNN clarifies that it has not submitted any video to an Israeli censor for review. “Crucially, it does not give the censor any editorial control over CNN’s coverage at all. It does allow them to make sure no sensitive information is unintentionally revealed.”
“Anyone who endangers Israel’s citizens in the name of ‘journalistic reporting’ will face a determined and tough police force,” said Ben Gvir, the country’s national security minister. “No concessions, no games.”
Inside Iran — undoubtedly the most dangerous spot on earth right now — CNN’s senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen has been one of the few able to broadcast.
Pleitgen interviewed business owners and reported that along with the widespread damage, shops were open and even fruits and vegetables were available, minimizing the impact on everyday society. Filming during a stop for coffee, Pleitgen said that despite seeing damaged buildings, smoke, and armed checkpoints, he had not found “any sign of order collapsing here.”
The correspondent, who had interviewed Iran’s foreign minister weeks earlier, has appeared on Anderson Cooper 360. He does include this disclaimer: “CNN is able to report in Iran only with the Iranian government’s permission.”
Charlene Laurent, an Iranian social media influencer in Los Angeles whose Instagram profile includes #irangenocide, said she and others tend to turn to Fox News because “CNN is, sorry to put it, fake news.” She believes the videos she sees on social media do not align with CNN content.
The Trump administration and MAGA followers also admonished CNN, charging the network with spreading “pro-Iran regime propaganda.”
“When a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it’s front-page news,” said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad. But try for once to report the reality. The terms of this war will be set by us at every step.”
Hegseth’s accusation, which is offensive, ignores the fact that the fallen are part of the story. Journalists report on those who have died in war in every administration — not to snipe at whoever is commander-in-chief, but to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
That was on display at the “dignified transfer” of six fallen soldiers in Delaware over the weekend, attended by Trump and others and carried live by the three cable news networks.
To the degree that the media have criticized the mixed messages about the Iran war, much of that is coming from the president himself. As endlessly replayed on TV, he originally said his goal was to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Then he spoke of regime change — while Hegseth said that was not the goal — because the initial attack killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top leaders. Trump also said he would have to approve Iran’s next leader, and it would not be the ayatollah’s son, his designated successor.
How long will the war last? The president initially said four to six weeks. But in a new interview with CBS’s Weijia Jiang, he said: “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force.”
Yet hours later, the president posted that if Iran doesn’t arrange oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a major world chokepoint, “they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit so far,” making it “virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again.”
The bottom line here is a stark contradiction: journalists face strict censorship from all sides, while images of war spread freely across social media. And viewers are left trying to put together the pieces.
Never before in the modern era has there been such a destructive war where TV has essentially been barred from giving the public the full picture.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
