[Note: February 28, 2020— The written text of this article has been updated.]

This video segment from the documentary “Behind the Big News” shows examples of the mainstream news media disseminating inaccurate information, such as a “Dateline NBC” news segment showing intentionally fraudulent information about the safety of a line of pickup trucks, issues concerning the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing being covered up by the media, issues with the U.S. getting involved in a military conflict in the Balkans based on fraudulent media reports, and issues concerning individuals in the media increasingly socializing with the politicians they cover.


Following is a written description of the information in the clip:

An excerpt from a segment of the television show “Dateline NBC” which was taped in 1992 entitled “Waiting to Explode” is shown which claims that a line of trucks produced by General Motors explode if impacted from the side.  A test scenario was set up where a car was crashed into the side of one of the trucks, which did make the truck explode.  However, one of the firefighters at the scene of the taping found that the gas tank in the truck was overfilled with gasoline, the wrong type of gas cap was used, and an incendiary device was even installed under the truck in order to ensure that it exploded.  After a full investigation into the matter, NBC had to air an apology and explain that they had rigged the accident scene.

After the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, information had been revealed showing that the U.S. Government had prior knowledge of the attack.  One source of information was Carrol Howe, who was a government informant that revealed Federal agencies had prior knowledge of the terrorist plot, and it is also shown that the investigators were ignoring several individuals linked to the bombing.  Roger Charles is a correspondent at ABC News whose news team interviewed Howe and obtained confirmation of her testimony.  He explains that the story was ready to air on ABC Evening news, but was then cancelled at the last minute without explanation.

In 1990, a conflict in the Balkans erupted into a civil war in what was a complicated situation with a long history, and major United States news outlets presented the situation as straightforward with the Serbs being cast as villains.  Ben Works, who is a military affairs analyst, explains that a now-famous photo shoot was set up by a British film crew using emergency shelters set up by the Serbs which made the refugees falsely appear as if they were being held captive and suffering in barbed wire fenced concentration camps, when in fact the refugees were standing outside the fences and free to come and go as they pleased.  Also a man with a pre-existing health condition was presented as being indicative of the people being malnurished.  The photos helped to motivate United States’ involvement into the military conflict, and Roy Gutman, one of the reporters responsible for creating the pictures, won a Pulitzer prize for it.

Footage from a White House Correspondent’s Dinner media event is shown, and it is explained that a “star system” has crept in where a wall which used to exist between members of the media and politicians has blurred and dissipated, with many people in the media now having personal friendships and socializing with the people who they cover.  It is explained that today’s standards in news reporting often has more to do with career enhancement of those in the media than reporting the truth, and when journalists try to “move up the pyramid,” they find that the media outlets are not interested in reporting news that “rocks the boat”— with “the boat” being the Establishment interests at the top that control the media.