may 8, 2007 - May 2007: BP & Iraq 'fake news' brief
Description:
In October 2016, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism released a report with the Times detailing a multi-million dollar deal between Bell Pottinger and the Pentagon to produce propaganda materials in Iraq.
The contracts uncovered amounted to USD540 million between May 2007 to December 2011.
The work had three elements:
TV ads portraying Al-Qaeda in a negative light,
news item filmed and edited in the style of Arabic news networks,
and fake insurgent videos used to track the people who watched them.
The agency’s staff worked alongside high-ranking US military officers in their Baghdad Camp Victory headquarters, said the BIJ.
It reported to the Pentagon, the CIA and the National Security Council. Some of the work was for the Joint Psychological Operations Task Force.
PR Week said the scale of the operation in Iraq was significant, costing more than a hundred million dollars per year and peaking at 300 British and Iraqi staff.
Lord Tim Bell confirmed some details of the investigation, saying Bell Pottinger worked on a “covert” military operation “covered by various secrecy agreements.” The agency made about £15 million a year in fees from the contract.
Added to timeline:
Bell
Date:
