Iraq Starts a YouTube Channel

Maliki says he wants to dispel media 'lies'

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 27, 2009 10:03 AM CST

(Newser) – Iraq’s government has launched an official YouTube channel designed, according to Nouri al-Maliki, to combat the “lies and misleading information in the news” media. The move comes a day after Google honcho Eric Schmidt visited the country promising to put images of Iraq’s national treasures online. The US embassy says the channel will show clips of parliamentary sessions, messages from Iraq’s leaders, and instructional videos on civic participation, notes Reuters.

But Maliki’s comments paint the channel as a mostly political tool, designed to counteract Iraq’s media, which, reveling in its post-Saddam freedom, has been highly critical of his new regime. Comments will be disabled on the videos. But the channel may have little impact; relatively few Iraqis have internet access, and fewer still have enough bandwidth for streaming video.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at his office in the heavily protected Green Zone in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

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Automakers Pushing 'Connected' Cars

Gizmos proliferate amid concerns on distracted driving

US Suspects al-Qaeda Behind Syria Bombings

Group may be looking to exploit the chaos

Google Creating Techie 'Entertainment Device'

Music gadget expected to mark start of new focus on hardware

Lawsuit: We Invented the Web, So Pay Up Google

Eolas Technologies patent claims interactive web is its brainchild

CIA Fills Void in Iraq, Afghanistan

Agency expects to maintain large stations there for years

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