The US military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to print stories written by US soldiers in an effort to polish the image of the American mission in Iraq, a US newspaper reported Wednesday.
US military "information operations" troops have written the articles, which are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newapapers with the help of the Lincoln Group, a Washington-based defence contractor, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Many articles are presented to Iraqi newspapers as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists, the daily said, citing documents it obtained and unnamed US military officials.
The stories denounce insurgents and tout the work of US and Iraqi troops and the US-led effort to rebuild Iraq.
The United States has paid Iraqi newspapers to publish dozens of articles, the LA Times said.
"The operation is designed to mask any connection with the US military," it said. The Lincoln Group helps translate and place the stories. The contractor's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance journalists or advertising executives to hand the stories to Iraqi papers.