NYT Takes a Look at Iraqi Bloggers

Since the US-led invasion of Iraq, I've always found Iraqi bloggers to be more reliable sources of information than mainstream reporters. The New York Times today has an article about the three Fadhil brothers, who have been blogging at Iraq the Model since November '03. The article, "Pro-American Iraqi Blog Provokes Intrigue and Vitriol," is thoroughly disappointing. While I'd like to think that this is just a bad article unto itself, it would not surprise me if the Times ran this article for the sole purpose of discrediting Iraqi blogs, who in some ways threaten the readership of the New York Times."The mystery began last month when I went online to see what Iraqis think about the war and the Jan. 30 national election," begins the reporter. It's a little odd that a reporter for the NYT would wait until last month to research what Iraqis think about the war and the upcoming election.The flaw in this article, however, is its focus on a conspiracy theory by people posting messages on a blog called Martini Republic, who claim that these three bloggers do not actually exist, and that they are concocted by the C.I.A:
One reader suggested that the brothers were real Iraqis but were being coached on what to write. Another, in support of that theory, noted the brothers' suspiciously fluent English. A third person observed that coaching wasn't necessary. All the C.I.A. would need to do to influence American opinion was find one pro-war blog and get a paper like USA Today to write about it.It's good to see the Times covering a couple people who run contrary to the their politics, but instead of a revealing article about three people whose view on Iraq is vastly different from the one perpetrated in the news sections of the Times, this story turns into a mouthpiece for a couple conspiracy theorists. What this article should have focused on was the actual writings of the three brothers.Meanwhile, Ali, who recently began posting at Free Iraqi has some interesting insight into his anticipation of the Jan. 30 election.UPDATE: Jeff Jarvis [via Instapundit] gives this Times' reporter a good smacking today. Check out "Shame on the New York Times." Power Line has also commented.