[Trending News] The Iran War, Propaganda, and the Fight for Truth: How PR and Journalism Shape What You See & Our Future as A Nation
- editorial team
- 44 minutes ago
- 4 min read
As formal conflict sweeps part of the world, the dual impact of newsroom layoffs and social media platform volatility has created dangerous gaps in objective reporting and how much information the average American knows about the war. This kind of information landscape makes it difficult to watchdog the administration and manipulate the future and understanding Americans have of policy and global relations.
By: MMM Editorial Team Keirah Chen, March 23rd, 2026
Following months of escalating fights on international waters and proxy engagements, the war in Iran has exposed a media landscape that is incredibly hollow. From the current number of American soldier deaths to the murky updates and lack of transparency when troops were originally shipped out, Americans struggle to get accurate, in-depth and, most importantly, full information on what's happening.
Unlike previous conflicts, where journalists were able to report on the ground and give audiences the reality of the conflict, the current war is being filtered through a degraded ecosystem of understaffed newsrooms and algorithmic gatekeeping.
The official escalation began in early February, following a series of major strikes committed by the current administration, which they claimed was necessary to stabilize Iran. However, while the White House continues to issue official updates, the independent verification of these claims has become almost impossible due to the dismantling of the foreign press corps, the changed nature of X and the overall monopolization of news.
Let's get into it.
The Lack of Embedded Reporters Covering the Iran War
This conflict comes at a time when the American media industry, particularly journalism and print news, is suffering greatly. As we explored last week, The Washington Post recently underwent massive amounts of layoffs. Many of these layoffs targeted foreign correspondents and embedded reporters who were living alongside military units to provide first-hand accounts.
Without these reporters, the public is forced to rely on footage from the Pentagon or clips on social media– during the Trump administration.
This is radically different from the Iraq and Afghanistan eras, where conflicts had the presence of thousands of embedded journalists, allowing exposure of critical failures, government lies, and human rights abuses. One of the most notable events was the Nisour Square Massacre – best known to the public as the event that revealed our heavy use on military contractors. However, these groundbreaking pieces are now virtually impossible, and the only lens available to the public is the one mostly provided by and approved by government officials.
The Algorithm as a Weapon of Propaganda in the War on Iran
The decay of reporting is not only happening in newsrooms but also on our own electronic devices. The acquisition of X (formerly known as Twitter) and the shift in its algorithm have severely changed how breaking international news reaches the US audiences. What was once a platform for real-time updates has been changed to prioritize paid engagement over factual reporting.
For visionaries shaping public change, this is not just a media issue—it is a direct threat to your influence. When public understanding is fragmented by algorithmic control and strategic information leaks, the ground you are trying to lead on becomes unstable. Your audience is no longer responding to shared reality, but to curated narratives designed to provoke, distract, or divide.
In this environment, the ability to communicate clearly is not enough. You are competing with systems engineered to distort attention at scale. When breaking news is suppressed, amplified, or reframed without transparency, trust erodes—and with it, your ability to move people toward meaningful action.
This is why PR, journalism, and narrative strategy are no longer optional tools for visionaries. They are infrastructure. The leaders who understand how information flows—and who can anchor their message within it—will shape public discourse. However, those who don't will find themselves simply reacting to narratives they did not create.
[Related] Make your brand impossible to ignore. Our Step into the Spotlight: PR Messaging Framework workbook helps you identify the most compelling language to secure more press coverage and grow your audience
Historical Precedents: Propaganda & False Flags Aren't New
The manipulation of details is not new, as it has been used throughout history to shift public views and turn public hesitation into support. We can look to two Democratic administrations to see how narrative restraint turned into narrative fabrication:
In 1962, the Joint Chiefs of Staff presented President John F. Kennedy with Operation Northwoods, a proposal to commit acts of terrorism on US soil and blame them on Cuba in order to warrant a war (otherwise known as a false flag event). Kennedy famously rejected the plan, prioritizing long-term strategies and integrity. His choice demonstrated that propaganda is a choice and can be prevented.
In contrast, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 served as an example of what an eroded media landscape can really cost the country. President Lyndon B Johnson used reports of a second attack on US destroyers to escalate the Vietnam War. However, this event was later proven to be untrue, and thousands of lives were lost, as well as the public's trust in the US government.
The Future of Our Media
Today, as newsrooms continue to shrink and algorithms prioritize views and engagement over truth, the burden of truth shifts to readers and to many expert sources and visionaries to lead and share information. To drive systemic change, we must move beyond being passive consumers of news to create the network of powerful news coverage we want to see. One thing is for certain: we have a reduced infrastructure as we head into the Iranian War and we need to be ready to question, verify and outright reject false, propaganda-type information.
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