A media alert is our analysis of a news story, sent out via email and published on our website. The alert compares the corporate media’s view of the world with fact-based, referenced and credible alternatives. We typically take a topic – for example, the publication of the 2006 Lancet report estimating 655,000 excess Iraqi deaths since the 2003 invasion of Iraq – and check media accuracy and honesty against the facts, and against the testimony of expert commentators and other reliable sources.
The objective is to present both versions – the corporate media’s and the alternative’s – of a particular argument as clearly and honestly as possible so that readers can make up their own minds about which arguments are more (or less) convincing. We then invite readers to make their views known both to us and to mainstream journalists through the “Suggested Action” section at the end of each alert where we provide contact details for editors and journalists. We urge correspondents to adopt a polite, rational and respectful tone at all times; we strongly oppose all abuse and personal attack. We often then follow up our alerts with updates containing analysis of, and commentary on, mainstream responses to our alerts, our readers’ emails, and so on. Media alerts are archived here for ease of public reference.