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Right-wing bloggers and their supporters perpetuate myths about Iran in a push for war

In and around May 19 (it’s hard to remember the exact date and the article has since disappeared from the web), the [tag]National Post[/tag] ran a front-page story by neo-con writer Amir Taheri about Iran. It claimed Iran was passing a law that required religious minorities like Jews and Christians to wear colour-coded badges identifying their religion.

The article was soon picked up by major news organizations, causing outrage among columnists, bloggers and prime minister Stephen Harper, who said, “We’ve seen a number of things from the Iranian regime that are along these lines…It boggles the mind that any regime on the face of the Earth would want to do anything that could remind people of Nazi Germany.”

But the story wasn’t true.

Regardless, in a phenomenon reminiscent of Iraqi WMDs, just because it isn’t true hasn’t stopped people from believing it. Small Dead Animals posted the story when it broke, quoting Bernard Lewis as saying “I feel it’s 1938 again”. But SDA and friends are not backing down, posting a lame response by the original author who says he “raised the issue not as a news story” and in general making the case that regardless of whether or not the story is true, Iran is evil/needs to be bombed/needs to be invaded/etc.

Michelle Malkin also posted about the story, although she has since qualified the story with a link that says it “may not be true” [emphasis mine]. Malkin is popular among conservatives, and her post alerted numerous conservative bloggers who proceeded to feature the story. Not all of them have informed their readers that the story is false. Here is a sampling:

Iran might as well put different colored bullseyes on Jews and Christians backs instead.

When will the Ayatollah come out with a small mustache and goose step to Wagner?

Westerners have no clue of the barbarity that followers of Islam have toward their fellow man.

No one took Hitler seriously back in the 30’s.

Iran Needs To Be Taken Out

In the comments on Right Voices, we’ve got: “We shoud put bullseyes on muslimsâ¦”; “Mohammed was no saint. He was a pedophile, plain and simple.”; “Islam is evil on earth, mohammed mass murdered millions of people”; and more cheerful musings.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad IS a madman, whether you want to admit it or not. As many others have mentioned, the parallels between this lunatic and Adolph Hitler are very similar.

I agree there are parallels between Nazi Germany and today. Parallels such as aggressive nationalism, patriotic jingoism, and rigid right-wing ideology. Plus, a vast propaganda apparatus, with one remarkable difference between then and now: then, the apparatus was operated by the state. Today, the state merely needs to give a little shove in the right direction, and legions of amateur propagandists take over.

[tags]right-wing propaganda, Iran, Amir Taheri, Islam, Iranian colour-coded badge story[/tags]