Counterfeit Coverage

In the tense days after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait stories were told about Iraqi brutality, particularly the account of the way in which over three hundred babies were alleged to have been taken out of their incubators by Iraqi soldiers. This story greatly affected public opinion with respect to western intervention in the Gulf. Probably the report was invented and latched onto to justify western interference. COUNTERFEIT COVERAGE examines why and how this story was circulated, and why it was sustained right up to the United Nations. Ten days after the Iraqi invasion a group called Citizens for a free Kuwait approached Hill & Knowlton, one of America's biggest pr-agencies, for their fight for liberty. This developed into one of the most influential campaigns that ever took place on behalf of a foreign power. News reports from Kuwait were incorporated extensively into the newscasts of American t.v. networks. In the United Nations the 'incubator story' first came up and here Iraq was presented a final ultimatum on the basis of this 'witness report'. In this film, various people who were involved in this large-scale 'falsification of history' give their account of the events.