Media

New York Times Claims Video Of Iraqis Dancing In The Street Is ‘Misleading’

Iranian general funeral

Reuters

Jordan Lancaster Reporter
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The New York Times claimed that a video shared Thursday by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showing Iraqi people celebrating Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani’s death is “misleading” despite the video being “authentic.”

On Thursday, Secretary Pompeo tweeted a video showing Iraqi people celebrating in the street after the assassination of Soleimani. The video has been shared over 58,000 times. 

Soon after, the Times published an article claiming Sec. Pompeo’s description of the video was misleading, despite admitting that the video was in fact authentic. (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez Rips Trump For Ordering Hit On Terrorist Soleimani)

“Mr. Pompeo’s tweet, widely shared, is an example of how misleading information spreads in the age of social media when people are quick to accept and promote information that validates their own worldviews,” the Times wrote. The report claimed that in reality, the group celebrating was “very small” and “the minor demonstration was over in less than two minutes.” 

Despite the complaints about Pompeo sharing an authentic video to his followers, the Times has been no stranger to misleading and blatantly incorrect information about Iran. (RELATED: Ex-CIA Senior Officer Daniel Hoffman Explains Trump’s Qasem Soleimani Air Strike)

In a now-deleted tweet, New York Times reporter Farnaz Fassihi falsely claimed that “ballistic missiles” launched by Iran in response to Soleimani’s death were hitting a U.S. military base. She shared the false information to her more than 46,000 Twitter followers. In the original tweet, Fassihi said the reports came from “unconfirmed sources,” but the post was widely shared before being proven false and retracted. 

Fassihi also shared a video in January of Suleimani “reciting poetry” about “friends departing and him being left behind.”