Alan Macleod

Alan MacLeod is Senior Staff Writer for MintPress News. He completed his PhD in 2017 and has since authored two acclaimed books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent, as well as a number of academic articles. He has also contributed to FAIR.org, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, and Common Dreams. Follow Alan on Twitter for more of his work and commentary: @AlanRMacLeod.

Terror Alarm: Inside the Shady Israeli Group Crowdfunding the Kidnapping of Dr. Marandi

Terror Alarm promotes itself as a service that can predict who will carry out attacks, based on their social media posts, and can share that information with governments and police forces. However, its own source code, netizens have exposed, dictates which groups are considered worthy of support and which are “opposed entities.” While the UAE, Turkey, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Israel and “Jews and Zionists worldwide” are considered positive groups, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the Chinese Communist Party are all placed on their own private terrorist list. 

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod

Shadowy pro-Israel group Terror Alarm is crowdfunding a $1 million bounty for the capture of a well-known Iranian academic and media personality – and Twitter is refusing to remove it. But who are Terror Alarm? MintPress traces the company back to its source and exposes its role as a private security firm.  Last week, the official Terror Alarm

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Embarrassing Pivot: US Considers Dropping Iran Oil Sanctions Amid War

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the move to free up 140 million barrels of oil was aimed at preventing China gaining from the situation. “That’s about 10 days to two weeks of supply that the Iranians had been pushing out that would have all gone to China,” he said. “In essence, we will be using the Iranian barrels against the Iranians to keep the price down for the next 10 or 14 days as we continue this campaign.”

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod
Donald Trump art feature photo Illustration by Mr. Fish

Forced into a humiliating U-turn amid a potential global economic meltdown, the Trump administration announced today that it may remove sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea.  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that the move to free up 140 million barrels of oil was aimed at preventing China gaining from the situation. “That’s

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Hasan Piker, Greta Thunberg Head Massive Cuba Convoy Aimed At Breaking US Blockade

“Right now, the United States is tightening its siege on Cuba,” said political streamer Hasan Piker, explaining his decision to join the convoy, adding: “Fuel shipments are blocked. Flights grounded, critical supplies cut off. Donald Trump has even threatened a ‘friendly takeover’ of the island. For Washington, the message is simple: submit – or suffer.”

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod
Coronavirus Cuba Feature photo

Amid a crushing (and illegal) U.S. blockade, dozens of public figures, including Hasan Piker, Greta Thunberg, Jeremy Corbyn, and Kneecap are traveling to Cuba to deliver aid to the island. Traveling by land, sea, and air, this internationalist brigade, known as the Nuestra América Convoy to Cuba, is converging on Havana on Saturday in order to

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Maximum Pressure, Maximum Blackouts: The Gazafication of Cuba

Many stores and markets are empty, not because the island does not produce food, but because there is no way to transport it from the countryside to the cities. The United Nations has warned of a possible “humanitarian collapse,” due to the economic war. Havana-based journalist Luis de Jesus Reyes labeled it an attempted genocide in the making. 

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod
AP photo Cuba blackout

Havana is unusually quiet. A city normally buzzing with traffic and nightlife lies still, dark, and silent. The Trump administration’s economic strangulation of the island has led to frequent and extended blackouts across the country, creating an economic crisis and uncertainty about the future.  “I can do anything I want with Cuba,” President

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Straight of Hormuz Closure Pushes Europe Toward Russia, Undermining Trump’s Iran War

In an interview with local newspaper, L’Echo, De Wever stated that Trump’s Iran attacks will force Europe to come to a quick and independent agreement with Russia, in order to avoid financial ruin amid an impending energy crisis. “We must normalize relations with Russia and regain access to cheap energy. That is common sense,” he said, adding, “In private, European leaders agree with me, but no one dares to say it out loud. We must end the conflict in the interest of Europe, without being naïve towards Putin.”

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod
russia sanctions

While it may have been able to take out Ayatollah Khamenei, the U.S.’ plans for regime change in Iran are not going as smoothly as they expected. With the Strait of Hormuz closed, the global economy is facing meltdown, and Washington’s allies are rapidly distancing themselves from the U.S. Meanwhile, facing an energy crisis, European leaders,

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The Return of ‘Havana Syndrome’ as Cuba Faces Renewed US Pressure Campaign

CBS News’ flagship political affairs show, “60 Minutes” aired another special on Havana Syndrome Sunday. The episode concentrated on profiling supposed victims of the mystery ailment, and claimed that the U.S. government had purchased a directed-energy weapon from a “Russian criminal network,” and that they had begun testing this weapon on animals. 

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod

As the Trump administration turns the screw on Cuba in an attempt at regime change, media are showing renewed interest in Havana Syndrome, the discredited theory that U.S. officials and secret agents are being targeted by a heretofore unknown directed energy weapon, making them sick.  CBS News’ flagship political affairs show, “60 Minutes” aired

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Corporate Media Go All Out To Support The US-Israeli War on Iran

Across the West, corporate media have employed the same tactics of using the passive voice and not naming the perpetrator when describing U.S./Israeli aggression. A perfect encapsulation of this was the BBC’s headline, “At least 153 dead after reported strike on school, Iran says,” that made it sound as if the children died in a lightning strike or a labor dispute, rather than that they were bombed by hostile foreign powers. 

Alan Macleod
От Alan Macleod
Raffi Berg Feature photo

Corporate media of all stripes have rushed to support the U.S./Israeli attack on Iran, throwing objectivity and accuracy by the wayside in order to manufacture consent for regime change.  On February 28, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, bombing cities across the country, assassinating its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and

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