Why is US trying to pull the plug on Press TV?
Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran
Following the United States’ seizure of tens of Iranian and regional media websites including that of Press TV, media activists have questioned the US’s claim of advocating freedom of expression.
Press TV has moved to its alternative domain at presstv.ir. While this is not the first time the US has targeted Press TV, it does raise the question of what makes American officials go out on a limb and violate basic principles of free speech to mute Press TV.
Press TV first went on air in 2007 as Iran’s only English-language news network.
It works based on the motto of ‘the voice of the voiceless’ and tries to cover stories that mainstream media usually boycott or underreport. A case in point is the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
During the latest Israeli onslaught on the Gaza Strip in May this year, Press TV maintained active presence on the ground in the occupied territories to shed light on Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
And when it comes to the Saudi-led coalition’s ongoing war on Yemen, Press TV has enlightened the minds of its viewers about how the US and the UK are benefiting from the conflict by selling their arms to Saudi Arabia only to drop them on Yemeni civilians.
The list goes on; US police brutality against people of color, its destabilizing military presence in the region, its role in the emergence of Daesh terrorists and so on, all were exposed in different programs on Press TV. The US’s attempt to stifle Press TV’s enlightening voice has a long history.
YouTube and Facebook have taken down Press TV’s web pages several times in the past. The news network has also been removed from TV broadcasting satellites in Europe, North America, and East Asia largely due to pressure from the United States and some of its allies.
Press TV is among the few independent news outlets that speak the unspoken truths, which have in times debunked the US standing as a role model in the world. So it should come as no surprise that Washington tries to pull the plug on Press TV, but that again proves that free speech is just a slogan there.
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