I believe that it is as bad as telling an outright lie, specifically in this case, as the events that occurred during the Iraq War had been used as a means of propaganda, which is censoring a number of important events in order to drive the intended message of the media to the public. However, this may not be a problem to the media as they are intentionally distorting the occurred events to gain an intended response from the public. Due to the fact that information is being censored or withheld from the public, it is seen that their understanding of the events during the Iraq War that is being shaped by the media and their representation. People who are not familiar with the Iraq War will rely on media to aid in keeping up with recent events as well as following the events of war. Due to the fact that people who are unfamiliar with the topic are being fed unfamiliar information, they are more likely to believe it, which thus highlights my point that deception is as bad as telling an outright lie.
In addition, in this case, specifically, the distortion of events was done by the media purposely, as mentioned before, in doing so, they are allowed to brainwash the public as the media has an immense impact on what people believe or not. For example, by portraying the scene of victory during the Iraq war, people in America consuming such propaganda are forced to think the war was positive. Moreover, the constant reference by President Bush implying that the war was fought to give the people of Iraq freedom and a democratic government highlights to the American people that the Iraqi War was fought for a good cause, yet the young child voicing words of anger towards the war and by stating that Iraqis don't want a democratic government was not portrayed to the public by the media. Overall, the media realises its immense impact on the public as well as their unbelievable power to distort events and thus use their power to drive their intended message to the public. This is done as many believe the media especially when they are unfamiliar on a topic.
