The late journalist John Pilger has become a contentious figure in the wake of his passing, with his legacy under scrutiny. A report from the NewStatesman archives highlights Pilger's 1999 coverage from East Timor, where he documented the plight of its people, who suffered genocide by Indonesia's Suharto and were neglected by the West. However, critics have accused Pilger of hypocrisy and propagandism, citing his controversial statement that Obama was 'a glossy Uncle Tom' who would bomb Pakistan, his denial of Serbian genocidal actions in Bosnia and Kosovo, and of Chinese actions towards Uyghurs. Additional allegations include Pilger's personal misconduct, such as taking logs without permission and not compensating the owner, and parallels drawn with Michael Moores for preaching against capitalism while not paying his contractors. His later years were marked by a descent into what some describe as 'deranged Putin supporting conspiracism'. Despite these criticisms, some journalists have paid tribute to Pilger, even those he had previously insulted for reporting on war crimes he denied.
In this 1999 piece, the late journalist reported from East Timor on how its people were abandoned by the West as they faced genocide at the hands of Indonesia’s Suharto. https://t.co/2OrinBn9Ex
Writing an obituary about John Pilger and not even mentioning his latter day descent into deranged Putin supporting conspiracism is like writing an obituary of Fred West that exclusively talks about his early career as an affordable family builder. https://t.co/yVWfzwO9sJ
The funniest thing about the Pilger eulogies are that some of them were made by journalists who Pilger had openly insulted for accurately reporting on war crimes he denied, proving they hadn’t read a damn thing he had said in at least 20 years.
"Are we really going to let the Blairs and Battles and Lloyds and Cooks get away with their cynicism and complicity, applied in our name?" In 1999 the late John Pilger reported from East Timor on how its people were abandoned by the West 👇 https://t.co/fYOZZxylfX
In this 1999 piece, the late journalist John Pilger reported from East Timor on how its people were abandoned by the West as they faced genocide at the hands of Indonesia’s Suharto. https://t.co/EvGBonbWYA
More on #Pilger, #JohnPilger, an awful man & propagandist: "Pilger... helped himself to a number of... logs without any permission... Pilger... made no effort to pay for the logs & from that day onwards the farmer & Pilger never spoke to each other again" https://t.co/bPetITTQie https://t.co/11keWvW2Ae
John Pilger's hypocrisies anticipated the Michael Moores, who would preach about the iniquities of capitalism while also not paying his contractors https://t.co/3thskd4pB6
1/n Let's be clear about Pilger. John Pilger claimed Obama was "a glossy Uncle Tom who would bomb Pakistan". Pilger pushed denialism of Serbian genocidal actions in Bosnia & Kosovo, & denialism of Chinese colonialist & genocidal actions towards Uyghurs https://t.co/qNXP4K3cz6
From the archive: John Pilger’s 1999 report from East Timor on how its people were abandoned by the West as they faced genocide at the hands of Indonesia’s Suharto. https://t.co/lUXxRXnMqh