Uploading dissonance: YouTube and the US occupation of Iraq

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze the use of YouTube by the US military for the spreading of messages and information regarding their presence in Iraq, and, at the same time, to examine the presence on the same YouTube system of a large number of video clips showing members of the US military engaged in violent, anti-social activities. That these juxtaposing images of coalition forces in Iraq exist on the same video-sharing forum forces us to reconsider traditional notions of how `propaganda' is produced, distributed and received. In addition, the presence of dissonant material on video-sharing sites such as YouTube should lead us to consider the multi-faceted nature of such sites. This article is intended as a first step toward reconsidering the nature of propaganda in an era of online media, open-access video-sharing and simplified production and distribution.

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