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The Iraq war appeared to be different in every country through their media. "Truth is always the first casualty of history" is a statement that our country and other countries didn't exactly follow. The media shaped everything we know today about the war or actually any war. Including how the government or country's actions can be supported through media and what is the impact these perspectives have on historical accounts for a particular event. During the war the media used propaganda most of the time throughout the war. They would fake things that happened and everyone believed it.

During the Iraq war, the media told everyone what was happening and what people were doing. Basically saying they shaped the war. This was a major example of propaganda. Many of it went through the newspaper. Every countries newspaper looked different in some way, an example would be the pictures that were posted on the front pages of newspapers that were zoomed in to make it look like there was a lot more people than there really was. When the American soldiers went and took down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, Iraq, the media took pictures in a certain way to make it look like the people were happy and there was a whole bunch of Iraqis there. There really wasn't. The only people at the event included some wanderers but mostly the media people and U.S. soldiers. I think this isn't the best for the United States because it shows that we have a government that wants to prove that it was important that we took down there statue but it really wasn't. Another example is in most of the newspapers from later in the war when they were physically fighting were mostly of American soldiers not of anything else. It was almost like we didn't care how many people were getting hurt in other countries or what the people thought of you. They only thing our media cared about were U.S. soldiers and whether they would make it home or not. When it comes to war, I think we should always tell the truth. The governments or even the country's actions can be supported through media because the media creates the propaganda. If the media shows fake pictures or takes pictures in different ways to create propaganda, the government knows that someone has their back. I think the reason the government does this is because they want to feel better about what they did to help others. They wanted to be the good ones in the war and they wanted to save people that they really didn't care about. By the Americans staging the whole scene of taking down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, Iraq it made the Americans feel like we had done something great in history and that we were the best. That is not always true though, some people may have not believed but the majority of the people living in the United States believed that we were the almighty. The impacts these perspectives have on historical accounts are good and bad all at once. The good things about this happening are that it makes the U.S. look good. It tells other countries that we are the best and that whatever war we get into next, we are always ready. This is not true. the bad things is that we are going to get into later wars, and when we do, people will find out that we aren't the best of all people.

The Iraq war appeared to have been a great success to United States soldiers but it also appears many different circumstances may have happened. Though people always trust and believe what the newspaper states or pictured, this gives us a better understanding of why not to always trust the newspapers. Media will probably always shape the war and everyone will still believe, though it may not be the best thing for the government in later years.

**__STEP 1__**

1. Create a list of all the types of media you or your group can think of. If you are on your own, you may need to check out other 8th graders work as the week progresses. - Newspaper - Radio - TV Stations - Magazines - You Tube - Internet

2. Identify the purposes of all media messages – for example to entertain, to inform etc. - Newspaper - inform and persuade - Radio - inform and entertain and persuade - TV Stations - inform and entertain and persuade - Magazines - entertain and persuade - You Tube - entertain and persuade - Internet - inform and entertain and persuade

3. How is the media influenced by social, political and economic factors? What other influences do you think media is affected or influenced by? The media is influenced by social factors by gossiping about what a celebrity did and why (it is all lies sometimes). It is influence by political by telling stories about candidates. It also is influenced by economic factors by talking about what is going on around them.

4. What do you think are the effects on those groups of people who are not represented by these media stories and those who portray them? They do drugs and try to get away from the media.

**__STEP 2__**

Look at the presentation in **Resource 1, "Web quest Iraq War Images**". Then watch “Censored Images of War: The War in Iraq 2”. With your group or with Mr. A's help, discuss and provide a written response in your Working Document to the following questions:

1. How are both sides of the war (i.e. Iraqis and the Americans) portrayed in these images and video? The Iraqis were portrayed as happy that their leader statue was going down. The Americans were portrayed as trying to be nice and helpful but we later found out that they wanted war.

2. Your group will now undertake research on the Internet to gain a brief overview of the Iraqi culture. Consider information such as major cities, religion, government, social structures. Iraq's major cities are Baghdad, Iraq's language is Arabic Iraq's religion is Muslim Iraq's government is has a president and then the president appoints three governors.

3. Using the **Presentation (Resource 1),** compare the images portraying the same event. Point out the similarities and differences between them.
 * ~ Iraq ||~ United States ||~ Both ||
 * Weren't as happy as they seemed || United States shows the Americans taking it down

Makes it look like a big crowd- the crowd was mostly media and Marines

There weren't as many people as the picture said

The Media took closeups || They were both acting ||

4. What choices were made in depicting this event in a certain way (i.e. through photographs, video, or written articles)? The Photographs made it look like a big crowd

5. How did this information affect your understanding of the event? Our Country is not as good as it seems; Makes it seem as more people attended the statue...

6. What choices were made by the media in how they captured this event? What elements did they choose to omit or select to show? What do you think the intentions were by portraying the event this way? The Media did what the Marines wanted; took close ups. They chose to use the zoomed in pictures. They wanted to show that more people cared and they were happy, but they really weren't.

7. Why do you think the newspaper images were doctored? To bend the truth. It is a form of propaganda, and it is horrible. People believe what they see, and what they see is not necessarily true.

8. What purpose did it serve? To make us believe something that is not true in a real-looking way.

9. Who gains from altering these images? The media does. People will want to buy the newspapers with the altered images, so they make money. The soldiers also do.

10. Do you think an altered image can change history, and if so, how? Yes because it makes the statue coming down look like a huge deal, when it really wasn't

**__Step 3__**

Each group or individual will be assigned a pair of newspaper images covering the war in Iraq. These can be found in **Resource 2 "Newspaper Covers of War in Iraq**". Your group is to analyse these newspaper covers and respond to the following questions. An example has been provided for you to work through as a whole class activity with your teacher. Record your answers to your work in your Working Document. Slide 3: Times Herald from NY, and the London Guardian 1. Consider how the Newspaper Editors have chosen to portray the war in Iraq. Consider elements such as a) Image size - The image is HUGE in the US paper, no story.... in the London paper, the image is not as close up. b) Use of color and font size- The london paper is very dim and musty. The font size is smaller. The US paper, the color is brighter, and the picture takes up the whole page, the font is huge c) Dedication of space to a particular article – consider the size of the article. Does this give it more prominence?- The US paper does not have a story on it. The London Paper has a short story that does not take up much room.

2. Who is the audience of the newspaper? In the US, the audience is US citizens. In London, audience is London.

3. Consider the ‘other’ side of the story. Who is not being represented in these newspapers? What ramifications does this have for ‘their’ side of the story? In the US paper, the Iraqis are not being represented. In London, the US is not being represented.

__**Step 5**__

__**Analytical Writing Task**__ The last task for this Webquest is an individual analytical writing task. **Each student is to write their own essay answering the following question:** Question: "//Truth is always the first casualty of history//" Assess how the media assists in shaping and influencing the way events are portrayed and recorded. Consider how a government or country's actions can be supported and 'legitimised' through the media. What impact do these perspectives have on historical accounts and sources for a particular event? Use the knowledge and sources you have analysed in the Webquest to support your answer. Post your essay on your webquest wiki page, and please provide images that you feel represent your experience with this webquest (Introduction, 3 body paragraphs - 8 to 11 sentences, conclusion). OR Find and describe 3 examples from Post WWII US History that demonstrate the concept of different perspectives. How did the United States sway public opinion with the use of media in those examples? Make sure and show other perspectives of the events you choose. For example, you could discuss how the United States portrayed the Cuban Missile crisis and then take a look at it from either the USSR's or Cuba's perspective. Use a wiki table, prezi, or PPT to compare and contrast those differing perspectives for each event you choose. Before you submit your work, check to ensure you have addressed the assessment rubrics located on the Evaluation page on this website.
 * __Finally__**......Submit your Working Document and Analytical Writing Task to your teacher by Friday, January 20th.