CNN just aired footage from Fars News Agency. It sounds official because it is official Iranian state media, but it’s not an independent newsroom. It’s aligned with the regime.
Here’s the simple test. If an outlet cannot criticize its own government without fear, it is not free press.
In the United States and Israel, media outlets openly challenge leaders, investigate those in power, and broadcast protests in real time.
No one is jailed for asking hard questions. That is what journalism is supposed to do.
In Iran, Fars does not investigate the Supreme Leader or expose the IRGC and Basij. Doing so can mean prison or worse.
It’s state messaging, not journalism. When regime media gets repackaged as credible reporting, it protects those in power, instead of the people crushed under them.
