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Iraqi government reaches out to YouTube to counter 'lies'

26 November 2009 18:25 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 16 comments

The Iraqi government has launched its own YouTube channel aimed at countering the "lies" from the media and to show off the government's "successes". Nuri al-Maliki, Shi'ite Prime Minister, said that the channel will help the government to dispel the "lies and misleading information in the news." He is seeking re-election early next year.

Several moves made recently in Iraq have sparked fears that the government may be trying to crack down on the media, which has had unprecedented freedom since Saddam Hussein was ousted. Several local and foreign lawsuits were filed against media outlets that were critical of Maliki or of his government. Additionally, new regulations for broadcasters and moves to censor books and the Internet were made.

It is unknown how much effect the YouTube channel could really have in Iraq, where only a small few actually have Internet access at home. Even in those cases, they rely on low bandwidth connections that would be unsuitable for video streaming. Of course, the YouTube channel does not allow users to leave any comments.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt visited Baghdad this week and revealed that Google would publish images of Iraq's national museum online as part of a U.S. government-backed initiative to entice firms to the country. A statement from the U.S. embassy in the country said the YouTube channel will be used to post parliamentary sessions, messages from leaders to citizens and information about state services.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Online video

YouTube testing 'feather' version for quicker loading (5 December 2009)

YouTube to stream TV episodes, for a fee? (1 December 2009)

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Amak (Member) 26 November 2009 23:36
Now, why does this familiar...this seems like something happening in a certain Coalition country...now which one could it be... [ + quote]
macssam (Newbie) 27 November 2009 7:01
where is this on youtube ??? [ + quote]
Hummer81 (Newbie) 27 November 2009 9:15
I WISH they would allow comments I would love to see the small children going on there and telling Iraq they are gay because they don't like the Beatles or something... [ + quote]
Hummer81 (Newbie) 27 November 2009 9:20
http://www.youtube.com/user/Iraqigov Notice how similar the eagle thing at the top is to the US no wonder the Iraqi's hate it! [ + quote]
vontratt (Newbie) 27 November 2009 11:23
Lies LIES. Seriously though its nice to see them reaching out to communicate more rather than letting the US military speak for them. [ + quote]
macssam (Newbie) 27 November 2009 15:41
Iraqis don't hate anybody but separation is the best source of income for the wealthy perverts who set this all up [ + quote]
joeroni (Newbie) 27 November 2009 19:19
Seen it done before when all was haveing problems in Nam years ago. [ + quote]
eLeCTR0n (Member) 27 November 2009 20:18
wow macssam you're good. [ + quote]
KillerBug (AfterDawn Addict) 28 November 2009 5:00
Reminds me of when China forced them to take down videos that were lieing by showing exactly what happened. 8 years after some retarted hillbilly started this pointless war, they have already brought back most of the old government, and are now going even farther than Sadam went. All well, I guess it is still better than overthrowing an elected government just to install a bunch of Heroin Cartels in their place. [ + quote]
macssam (Newbie) 28 November 2009 5:00
all the knowledge in the universe wont change anyones destiny [ + quote]
Amak (Member) 28 November 2009 9:11
*Originally posted by KillerBug:* Reminds me of when China forced them to take down videos that were lieing by showing exactly what happened. 8 years after some retarted hillbilly started this pointless war, they have already brought back most of the old government, and are now going even farther than Sadam went. All well, I guess it is still better than overthrowing an elected government just to install a bunch of Heroin Cartels in their place. <sarcasm> Ahhh yes, gotta hate an elected government that tortures it's people starves them, takes away ALL freedoms. Evil, EVIL Maliki. </sarcasm> [ + quote]
macssam (Newbie) 28 November 2009 15:04
the same criminals brought patsies throughout history sad'dam noriega marcos fidel bush clinton stalin obama the list is endless ... [ + quote]
KillerBug (AfterDawn Addict) 30 November 2009 0:49
*Quote:* *Originally posted by KillerBug:* Reminds me of when China forced them to take down videos that were lieing by showing exactly what happened. 8 years after some retarted hillbilly started this pointless war, they have already brought back most of the old government, and are now going even farther than Sadam went. All well, I guess it is still better than overthrowing an elected government just to install a bunch of Heroin Cartels in their place. <sarcasm> Ahhh yes, gotta hate an elected government that tortures it's people starves them, takes away ALL freedoms. Evil, EVIL Maliki. </sarcasm> I'm not saying that the Afgani government was a good one, only that the "Northern Alliance" that we gave power to is actauly several waring Heroin Cartels, who now control the country. Heroin Poppies were almost extinct in Afganistan before we did this, now they are at record highs. The people of the country are being treated at least as terribly as they were in the past, their lives are more dangerous, and the death and missery is spreading around the world in the form of Heroin. [ + quote]
Hummer81 (Newbie) 30 November 2009 4:31
2 different wars 2 different reasons for both. But the truth is it is done now and we can do nothing about it! [ + quote]
KillerBug (AfterDawn Addict) 30 November 2009 5:51
*Originally posted by Hummer81:* 2 different wars 2 different reasons for both. But the truth is it is done now and we can do nothing about it! The truth is that it has just begun, and we can do nothing about it. And no, these are not two different wars with 2 different reasons. They are both wars against muslim countries, started by a christian extremist (when you kill someone because you don't agree with their faith, you are an extremist) who himself called the wars, "A Crusade". Neither country had anything to do with 9-11, and most of the hijackers were from Saudi-Arabia...a country helped by both of these crusades, as their main export (oil) has skyrocketed in price thanks to the conflicts. [DFI M2RS] [Athlon 9950] [ATI 3870HD] [Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600] [6GB Corsair DDR2] [4x Seagate ST31500341AS + 3ware 9690SA = 4.5TB RAID5] [2x Seagate 750GB + 2x Seagate 500GB + Adaptec 1430SA = 750GB RAID1 + 500GB RAID1] [Intel Gigabit NIC (PCI)] [LG 20X Lightscribe DVDR] [Coolmax 1200w Power Supply] [Logitech G15(first edition)] [Logitech G5(Second Edition)] [320GB Hitachi Boot] [320GB Hitachi Temp/Swap] [Modified and overgrown 4U Rackmount case] [22" & 24" screens mounted overhead] [Perfect Chair 085] [Logitech 5.1 Audio] [Windows 7 RC1] [ + quote]
macssam (Newbie) 30 November 2009 6:18
climb on top of the mountain so you can see the whole picture [ + quote]