Affiliation:
1. Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
2. Department of Communication, University at Albany, Albany, USA
Abstract
The US Maximum Pressure campaign, a conglomeration of diplomatic, economic, and military sticks, was ostensibly designed to force Iran into renegotiating the 2015 nuclear deal; critics say the real aim is regime change. The auxiliary media efforts in support of the policy are part of an ongoing soft war. One dimension of these efforts is the export of a popular American media format, the outrage genre or cable news magazine, to Iran via Voice of America. Last Page (safhe-ye akhar) is an attempt, like much international propaganda, to reinforce rather than change opinions. This paper examines how the program attempts to reinforce anti-regime sentiment not by informing its audience but by providing a space of mediated belonging in which the host ‘gets you,’ feels the news with you, and feels for you. The paper concludes with a discussion about the potential uses and limitations of outrage media in international propaganda.
Subject
Sociology and Political Science,Communication
Reference104 articles.
1. The 1953 Coup in Iran
2. Platform Surveillance and Resistance in Iran and Russia: The Case of Telegram
3. Democracy Promotion versus Engagement with Iran
4. Ali I, Stewart P (2020) More than 100 U.S. Troops diagnosed with brain injuries from Iran attack. Reuters, 10 February. Available at: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-pentagon-tbi-exclusive/exclusive-more-than-100-u-s-troops-diagnosed-with-brain-injuries-from-iran-attack-officials-idUSKBN2041ZK (accessed 11 March 2022).