Examine individual changes

'{{short description|Australian journalist (born 1939)}} {{use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{use Australian English|date=October 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = John Pilger | image = John Pilger in August 2011.jpg | image_size = | caption = Pilger in August 2011 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1939|10|9}} | birth_place = [[Bondi, New South Wales|Bondi]], [[New South Wales]], Australia | death_date = | death_place = | education = [[Sydney Boys High School]] | alma_mater = | nationality = {{hlist|Australian|British}} | occupation = {{hlist|[[Journalist]]|[[Author]]|[[Filmmaker]]}} | spouse = {{marriage|Scarth Flett|||end=divorced}} | partner = [[Yvonne Roberts]] | children = 2, including [[Zoe Pilger|Zoe]] | website = {{url|johnpilger.com|Official website}} | awards = [[#Honours and awards|Full list]] }} '''John Richard Pilger''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɪ|l|dʒ|ər}}; born 9 October 1939) is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/nov/12/john-pilgers-utopia|title=John Pilger's Utopia: an Australian film for British eyes first|last=Buckmaster|first=Luke|date=12 November 2013|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrei-markovits-and-jeff-weintraub/obama-and-the-progressive_b_103979.html][[Andrei Markovits]]<span> and Jeff Weintraub, "Obama and the Progressives: A Curious Paradox"</span>, ''[[The Huffington Post]]'', 28 May 2008</ref><ref>[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/australias-shame-on-aboriginal-living-standards-says-expat/story-e6frg6n6-1226632509439 "Aboriginal squalor among Australia's 'dirtiest secrets' says expat"], by Candace Sutton, ''[[The Australian]]'', 1 March 2013</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/976053/index.html|title=BFI Screenonline: Pilger, John (1939–) Biography|website=Screenonline.org.uk}}</ref> He was also once Visiting Professor at [[Cornell University]] in [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref>{{cite web|year=2004|title=As the election closes in, John Pilger denounces Americanism|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/node/192508|publisher=New Statesman|accessdate=23 July 2021}}</ref> Pilger is a strong critic of [[Foreign policy of the United States|American]], [[Foreign relations of Australia|Australian]], and [[Foreign relations of the United Kingdom|British foreign policy]], which he considers to be driven by an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] and [[Colonialism|colonialist]] agenda. Pilger has also criticised his native country's treatment of [[Indigenous Australians]]. He first drew international attention for his reports on the [[Cambodian genocide]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/29/movies/film-two-perceptions-of-the-khmer-rouge.html |title=Film: Two Perceptions of the Khmer Rouge |date=29 April 1983 |last=Maslin |first=Janet |work=The New York Times |access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> His career as a documentary film maker began with ''The Quiet Mutiny'' (1970), made during one of his visits to Vietnam, and has continued with over 50 documentaries since. Other works in this form include ''[[Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia|Year Zero]]'' (1979), about the aftermath of the [[Khmer Rouge|Pol Pot regime]] in Cambodia, and ''[[Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy]]'' (1993). His many documentary films on indigenous Australians include ''[[The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back|The Secret Country]]'' (1985) and ''[[Utopia (2013 film)|Utopia]]'' (2013). In the British print media, Pilger worked at the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' from 1963 to 1986,<ref name="Pilgerbio">[http://johnpilger.com/biography Biography page], John Pilger's official website</ref> and wrote a regular column for the ''[[New Statesman]]'' magazine from 1991 to 2014. Pilger won Britain's Journalist of the Year Award in 1967 and 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=1970-1979-Winners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025111605/http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=1970-1979-Winners|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2017|title=Press Awards Winners 1970–1979, Society of Editors }}</ref> His documentaries have gained awards in Britain and worldwide,<ref name="Pilgerbio"/><ref name="robert-fisk1">[http://www.robert-fisk.com/johnpilger/introduction_johnpilger.htm "Introduction to John Pilger"], [[Robert Fisk]] website {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820183415/http://www.robert-fisk.com/johnpilger/introduction_johnpilger.htm |date=20 August 2008 }}</ref> including multiple [[BAFTA]] honours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0683400/awards|title=John Pilger|website=[[IMDb]]|language=en|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> The practices of the mainstream media are a regular subject in Pilger's writing. ==Early life== John Richard Pilger was born on 9 October 1939<ref>Anthony Hayward, ''Breaking the Silence: The Television Reporting of John Pilger,'' London, Network, 2008, p. 3 (no ISBN, book contained within ''Heroes'' DVD, Region 2 boxset)</ref><ref>Trisha Sertori [http://www2.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/11/john-pilger-the-messenger.html "John Pilger: The Messenger"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025190705/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/11/john-pilger-the-messenger.html |date=25 October 2012 }} ''[[The Jakarta Post]]'', 11 October 2012</ref> in [[Bondi, New South Wales]],<ref name="Pilgerbio" /> the son of Claude and Elsie Pilger. His older brother, Graham (1932–2017), was a disabled rights activist who later advised the government of [[Gough Whitlam]].<ref name="GPilger">{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=John|url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/graham-pilger-rowing-coach-and-battler-for-the-disabled-20170215-gue5x6.html|title=Graham Pilger, champion for the rights of the disabled|work=Sydney Morning Herald|date=17 February 2017|access-date=21 February 2017}}</ref> Pilger is of German descent on his father's side,<ref>John Pilger ''A Secret Country'', p. xiv</ref> while his mother had English, German, and Irish ancestry; two of his maternal great-great-grandparents were Irish convicts transported to Australia.<ref name="discs">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/9be0c56e "Interview with John Pilger"], ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', [[BBC Radio 4]], 18 February 1990</ref><ref>John Pilger ''Heroes'', p. 10</ref><ref>[http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-hidden-history-of-the-women-who-rose-up "John Pilger on a hidden history of women who rose up"], 6 July 2018</ref> His mother taught French in school.<ref name="discs"/> Pilger and his brother attended [[Sydney Boys High School]],<ref name="Pilgerbio" /><ref name="GPilger"/> where he began a student newspaper, ''The Messenger''. He later joined a four-year journalist trainee scheme with the Australian Consolidated Press.<ref name="Pilgerbio" /> ==Newspaper and television career== === Newspaper === Beginning his career in 1958 as a copy boy with the ''Sydney Sun'', Pilger later moved to the city's ''[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)|Daily Telegraph]],'' where he was a reporter, sports writer, and sub-editor.<ref name="Pilgerbio" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/media/media/2013/05/hold-front-page-we-need-free-media-not-order-mates|title=Hold the front page! We need free media not an Order of Mates|last=Pilger|first=John|date=8 May 2013|work=New Statesman|access-date=22 April 2017}}</ref> He also freelanced and worked for the Sydney ''Sunday Telegraph'', the daily paper's sister title. After moving to Europe, he was a freelance correspondent in Italy for a year.<ref name="Hayward4">Hayward (2008), p. 4</ref> Settling in London in 1962, working as a sub-editor, Pilger joined British United Press and then [[Reuters]] on its Middle-East desk.<ref name="Hayward4" /> In 1963 he was recruited by the English ''[[Daily Mirror]],'' again as a sub-editor.<ref name="Hayward4" /> Later, he advanced to become a reporter, a feature writer, and Chief Foreign Correspondent for the title. While living and working in the United States for the ''Daily Mirror'', on 5 June 1968 he witnessed the [[assassination of Robert F. Kennedy]] in Los Angeles during his presidential campaign.<ref>John Pilger & Michael Albert [http://www.zcommunications.org/the-view-from-the-ground-by-john-pilger "The View From The Ground"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219060727/http://www.zcommunications.org/the-view-from-the-ground-by-john-pilger |date=19 February 2013 }} ''Znet'', 16 February 2013</ref> He was a [[war correspondent]] in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]], [[Cambodian humanitarian crisis|Cambodia]], [[Bangladesh Liberation War|Bangladesh]] and [[Nigerian Civil War|Biafra]]. Nearly eighteen months after [[Robert Maxwell]] bought the ''Mirror'' (on 12 July 1984), Pilger was sacked by [[Richard Stott]], the newspaper's editor, on 31 December 1985.<ref>Roy Greenslade ''Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits From Propaganda'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2003 [2004 (pbk)], p. 401</ref> Pilger was a founder of the ''[[News on Sunday]]'' tabloid in 1984, and was hired as Editor-in-Chief in 1986.<ref name="Heroes572">John Pilger ''Heroes'', London: Vintage, 2001 edition, pp. 572–73</ref> During the period of hiring staff, Pilger was away for several months filming ''The Secret Country'' in Australia. Prior to this, he had given editor Keith Sutton a list of people who he thought might be recruited for the paper, but found on his return to Britain that none of them had been hired.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0074s7x ''Lefties: 3: A Lot of Balls''], BBC Four, 11 October 2007</ref> Pilger resigned before the first issue and had come into conflict with those around him. He disagreed with the founders' decision to base the paper in Manchester and then clashed with the governing committees; the paper was intended to be a workers' co-operative.<ref name="Greenslade494">Roy Greenslade [https://books.google.com/books?id=KPR0pB9UCS4C&pg=PA494 ''Press Gang: How Newspapers Make Profits From Propaganda''], London: Pan, 2003 [2004], pp. 494–95</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110525125629/http://www.bjr.org.uk/data/2006/no2_front_pages "Gone and (largely) forgotten"], ''British Journalism Review'', 17:2, 2006, pp. 50–52</ref> Sutton's appointment as editor was Pilger's suggestion, but he fell out with Sutton over his plan to produce a left wing ''[[The Sun (United Kingdom)|Sun]]'' newspaper.<ref name="Greenslade494" /> The two men ended up producing their own dummies, but the founders and the various committees backed Sutton.<ref name="Greenslade494" /> Pilger, appointed with "overall editorial control",<ref name="Heroes572" /> resigned at this point.<ref>Maurice Smith [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19870213&id=TPQ9AAAAIBAJ&sjid=AEkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4948,2993964 "A Newspaper In Pursuit Of Lost Ideals"], ''Glasgow Herald'', 13 February 1987, p. 13</ref> The first issue appeared on 27 April 1987 and ''The News on Sunday'' soon closed. Pilger returned to the ''Mirror'' in 2001 after the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 attacks]], while [[Piers Morgan]] was editor.<ref>Hayward (2008), p. 10</ref> His most frequent outlet for many years was the ''[[New Statesman]]'', where he had a fortnightly column from 1991 when [[Steve Platt]] was editor to 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.redpepper.org.uk/beyond-the-dross/|title=Beyond the dross|last1=Pilger|first1=John|date=July 2010|work=Red Pepper|last2=Platt|first2=Steve}}</ref><ref name="Walker">{{cite news|url=http://pressgazette.co.uk/john-pilger-says-guardian-column-was-axed-in-purge-of-journalists-saying-what-the-paper-no-longer-says/|title=John Pilger says Guardian column was axed in 'purge' of journalists 'saying what the paper no longer says'|last=Walker|first=James|date=26 January 2018|work=Press Gazette|access-date=26 January 2018}}</ref> In 2018, Pilger said his "written journalism is no longer welcome" in the mainstream and that "probably its last home" was in ''[[The Guardian]]''. His last column for ''The Guardian'' was in April 2015.<ref name="Walker" /> === Television === With the actor [[David Swift (actor)|David Swift]], and the film makers [[Paul Watson (documentary filmmaker)|Paul Watson]] and [[Charles Denton (television and film producer)|Charles Denton]], Pilger formed Tempest Films in 1969. "We wanted a frontman with a mind of his own, rather like another [[James Cameron (journalist)|James Cameron]], with whom [[Richard Marquand|Richard <nowiki>[Marquand]</nowiki>]] had worked", Swift once said. "Paul thought John was very charismatic, as well as marketing extremely original, refreshingly radical ideas." The company was unable to gain commissions from either the BBC or [[ITV (TV channel)|ITV]], but did manage to package potential projects.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hayward|first=Anthony|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/apr/18/david-swift-obituary|title=David Swift obituary|work=The Guardian|date=18 April 2016|access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> Pilger's career on television began on ''[[World in Action]]'' ([[Granada Television]]) in 1969, directed by Denton, for whom he made two documentaries broadcast in 1970 and 1971, the earliest of more than fifty in his career. ''The Quiet Mutiny'' (1970) was filmed at Camp Snuffy, presenting a character study of the common US soldier during the [[Vietnam War]]. It revealed the shifting [[morale]] and open rebellion of American troops. Pilger later described the film as "something of a scoop" – it was the first documentary to show the problems with morale among the drafted ranks of the US military. In an interview with the ''[[New Statesman]]'', Pilger said: <blockquote>When I flew to New York and showed it to [[Mike Wallace]], the star reporter of [[CBS]]' ''[[60 Minutes]]'', he agreed. "Real shame we can't show it here".<ref>John Pilger, [http://www.newstatesman.com/node/192475 "The revolution will not be televised"], ''New Statesman'', 11 September 2006</ref> </blockquote> He made other documentaries about the United States involvement in Vietnam, including ''Vietnam: Still America's War'' (1974), ''Do You Remember Vietnam?'' (1978), and ''[[Vietnam: The Last Battle]]'' (1995). During his work with BBC's ''Midweek'' television series during 1972–73,<ref name="Hayward5">Hayward (2008), p. 5</ref> Pilger completed five documentary reports, but only two were broadcast. Pilger was successful in gaining a regular television outlet at [[Associated Television|ATV]]. The ''Pilger'' half-hour documentary series was commissioned by [[Charles Denton (television and film producer)|Charles Denton]], then a producer with ATV, for screening on the British ITV network. The series ran for five seasons from 1974 until 1977,<ref name="Hayward5" /> at first running in the UK on Sunday afternoons after ''[[Weekend World]]''. The theme song for the series was composed by [[Lynsey de Paul]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312186/fullcredits|title=Pilger (TV Series 1974– )|access-date=26 May 2018|website=IMDb.com}}</ref> Later it was scheduled in a weekday peak-time evening slot. The last series included "A Faraway Country" (September 1977) about dissidents in [[Czechoslovakia]], then still part of the Communist Soviet bloc. Pilger and his team interviewed members of [[Charter 77]] and other groups, clandestinely using domestic film equipment. In the documentary Pilger praises the dissidents' courage and commitment to freedom, and describes the communist totalitarianism as "fascism disguised as socialism".<ref>[http://johnpilger.com/videos/a-faraway-country ''A Faraway Country''], JohnPilger.com, Retrieved 23 January 2012</ref> Pilger was later given an hour slot at 9&nbsp;pm, before ''[[ITV News at Ten|News at Ten]]'', which gave him a high profile in Britain. After ATV lost its franchise in 1981, he continued to make documentaries for screening on ITV, initially for [[ITV Central|Central]], and later via [[Carlton Television]]. ==Documentaries and career: 1978–2000== ===Cambodia=== {{Main|Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia}} In 1979, Pilger and two colleagues with whom he collaborated for many years, documentary film-maker [[David Munro (documentary filmmaker)|David Munro]] and photographer Eric Piper, entered [[Cambodia]] in the wake of the overthrow of the [[Pol Pot]] regime. They made photographs and reports that were world exclusives. The first was published as a special issue of the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'', which sold out. They also produced an ITV documentary, ''Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia'',<ref>[http://johnpilger.com/videos/year-zero-the-silent-death-of-cambodia ''Year Zero: the Silent Death of Cambodia''], video of programme on John Pilger's website.</ref> which brought to people's living rooms the suffering of the [[Khmer people]]. During the filming of ''Cambodia Year One'', the team were warned that Pilger was on a [[Khmer Rouge]] 'death list.' In one incident, they narrowly escaped an ambush.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}} Following the showing of ''Year Zero'', some $45&nbsp;million was raised, unsolicited, in mostly small donations, including almost £4&nbsp;million raised by schoolchildren in the UK. This funded the first substantial relief to Cambodia, including the shipment of life-saving drugs such as penicillin, and clothing to replace the black uniforms people had been forced to wear. According to Brian Walker, director of [[Oxfam]], "a solidarity and compassion surged across our nation" from the broadcast of ''Year Zero''.<ref>John Pilger ''Heroes'', p. 410</ref> [[William Shawcross]] wrote in his book ''The Quality of Mercy: Cambodia, Holocaust and Modern Conscience'' (1984) about Pilger's series of articles about Cambodia in the ''Daily Mirror'' during August 1979: <blockquote>A rather interesting quality of the articles was their concentration on Nazism and the holocaust. Pilger called Pol Pot 'an Asian Hitler' — and said he was even worse than Hitler . . . Again and again Pilger compared the Khmer Rouge to the Nazis. Their Marxist-Leninist ideology was not even mentioned in the ''Mirror'', except to say they were inspired by the Red Guards. Their intellectual origins were described as 'anarchist' rather than Communist".<ref name="West84">{{cite news|last=West|first=Richard|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/29th-september-1984/29/who-was-to-blame|title=Who was to blame?|work=The Spectator|pages=29–30, 29|date=28 September 1984|access-date=26 August 2016}} "Holocaust" is rendered in lower case in Richard West's article.</ref></blockquote> [[Ben Kiernan]], in his review of Shawcross's book, notes that Pilger did compare Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge to [[Great Purge|Stalin's terror]], as well as to [[Mao Zedong|Mao]]'s [[Red Guards (China)|Red Guards]]. Kiernan notes instances where other writers' comparisons of Pol Pot to Hitler or the Vietnamese to the Nazis are either accepted by Shawcross in his account, or not mentioned.<ref name="Kiernan1984">{{cite web|last=Kiernan|first=Ben|url=http://www.yale.org/gsp/publications/Kiernan%20Review.pdf|title=Review Essay: William Shawcross, Declining Cambodia|work=Age|date=30 October 1984|pages=56–63, 62|access-date=26 August 2016|archive-date=13 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913093404/http://www.yale.org/gsp/publications/Kiernan%20Review.pdf|url-status=dead}} Also cited to ''Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars'' (January–March 1986), 18(1): 56–63</ref> Shawcross wrote in ''The Quality of Mercy'' that "Pilger's reports underwrote almost everything that refugees along the Thai border had been saying about the cruelty of Khmer Rouge rule since 1975, and that had already appeared in the books by the ''Readers Digest'' and François Ponchaud. In ''Heroes'', Pilger disputes [[François Ponchaud]] and Shawcross's account of Vietnamese atrocities during [[Cambodian humanitarian crisis#Vietnamese invasion and famine|the Vietnamese invasion and near famine]] as being "unsubstantiated".<ref name="Pilger1986">{{cite book|last=Pilger|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dcL6w-VmjWwC&pg=PA417|title=Heroes|location=London|publisher=Soluth End Press|year=2001|page=417|isbn=9780896086661}} (Originally published by Jonathan Cape, London, 1986)</ref> Ponchaud had interviewed members of anti-communist groups living in the Thai refugee border camps. According to Pilger, "At the very least the effect of Shawcross's 'exposé'" of Cambodians' treatment at the hands of the Vietnamese "was to blur the difference between Cambodia under Pol Pot and Cambodia liberated by the Vietnamese: in truth, a difference of night and day".<ref name="Pilger1986"/> In his book, Shawcross himself doubted that anyone had died of starvation.<ref name="Kiernan1984"/> Pilger and Munro made four later films about Cambodia. Pilger's documentary ''Cambodia – The Betrayal'' (1990), prompted a libel case against him, which was settled at the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] with an award against Pilger and Central Television. ''The Times'' of 6 July 1991 reported: <blockquote>Two men who claimed that a television documentary accused them of being [[Special Air Service|SAS]] members who trained Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge to lay mines, accepted "very substantial" libel damages in the High Court yesterday. Christopher Geidt and Anthony De Normann settled their action against the journalist John Pilger and Central Television on the third day of the hearing. Desmond Browne, QC, for Mr Pilger and Central Television, said his clients had not intended to allege the two men trained the Khmer Rouge to lay mines, but they accepted that was how the program had been understood.<ref>[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/the-lie-is-indeed-breathtaking-mr-pilger-but-who-told-it/story-e6frg71f-1111118977347 "The lie is breathtaking indeed, Mr. Pilger, but who told it?"], ''The Australian'', 27 February 2009, accessed 24 July 2011</ref></blockquote> Pilger said the defence case collapsed because the government issued a gagging order, citing national security, which prevented three government ministers and two former heads of the [[Special Air Service|SAS]] from appearing in court.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sawer|first=Patrick|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10044172/Buckingham-Palace-defends-Queens-private-secretary-against-conflict-of-interest-claims.html|title=Buckingham Palace defends Queen's private secretary against 'conflict of interest' claims|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 May 2013|access-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> The film received a British Academy of Film and Television Award nomination in 1991.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=documentary&page=2&f=|title=BAFTA Awards Search {{!}} BAFTA Awards|website=awards.bafta.org|language=en|access-date=18 May 2018}}</ref> ===Australia's Indigenous peoples=== Pilger has long criticised aspects of Australian government policy, particularly what he regards as its inherent racism resulting in the poor treatment of [[Indigenous Australians]]. In 1969, Pilger went with Australian activist [[Charles Perkins (Aboriginal activist)|Charlie Perkins]] on a tour to Jay Creek in Central Australia. He compared what he witnessed in Jay Creek to South African apartheid.<ref>Fieta Page [http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/john-pilger-hopes-to-open-eyes-to-plight-of-aboriginals-with-utopia-20140226-33irr.html John Pilger hopes to open eyes to plight of Aboriginals with Utopia], ''The Canberra Times'', 27 February 2014</ref> He saw the appalling conditions that the [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal people]] were living under, with children suffering from malnutrition and grieving mothers and grandmothers having had their lighter-skinned children and grandchildren removed by the police and welfare agencies. Equally, he learned of Aboriginal boys being sent to work on white run farms, and Aboriginal girls working as servants in middle-class homes as undeclared slave labour.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pilger |first1=John |title=John Pilger goes back to his homeland to investigate Australia's dirtiest secret |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/john-pilger-goes-back-homeland-2941945 |access-date=31 December 2018 |newspaper=The Daily Mirror |date=19 December 2013}}</ref> Pilger has made several documentaries about Indigenous Australians, such as ''[[The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back]]'' (1985) and ''[[Welcome to Australia]]'' (1999). His book on the subject, ''A Secret Country'', was first published in 1989. Pilger wrote in 2000 that the 1998 legislation that removed the common-law rights of Indigenous peoples: <blockquote>is just one of the disgraces that has given Australia the distinction of being the only developed country whose government has been condemned as racist by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.<ref>John Pilger [http://www.newstatesman.com/200010160011 "Australia is the only developed country whose government has been condemned as racist by the United Nations"], ''New Statesman'', 16 October 2000</ref></blockquote> Pilger returned to this subject with ''Utopia'', released in 2013 (see below). ===East Timor=== ====''Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy''==== {{Main|Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy}} In [[East Timor]] Pilger clandestinely shot ''Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy'' about the brutal [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|Indonesian occupation of East Timor]], which began in 1975. ''Death of a Nation'' contributed to an international outcry which ultimately led to Indonesian withdrawal from [[East Timor]] and eventual independence in 2000. When ''Death of a Nation'' was screened in Britain it was the highest rating documentary in 15 years and 5,000 telephone calls per minute were made to the programme's action line.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeout.com/film/news/1408/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405201918/http://www.timeout.com/film/news/1408/|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 April 2008|title=Documentary evidence - News - Film - Time Out London|date=5 April 2008|access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> When ''Death of a Nation'' was screened in Australia in June 1994, Foreign Minister [[Gareth Evans (politician)|Gareth Evans]] declared that Pilger "had a track record of distorted sensationalism mixed with sanctimony."<ref>"Pilger turns up heat on East Timor", ''The Australian'', 3 June 1994</ref> ==Documentaries and career since 2000== ===''Palestine Is Still the Issue''=== {{Main|Palestine Is Still the Issue}} Pilger's documentary ''[[Palestine Is Still the Issue]]'' was released in 2002 and had [[Ilan Pappé]] as historical adviser. Pilger said the film describes how an "historic injustice has been done to the Palestinian people, and until Israel's illegal and brutal occupation ends, there will be no peace for anyone, Israelis included". He said the responses of his interviewees "put the lie to the standard Zionist cry that any criticism of Israel is anti-semitic, a claim that insults all those Jewish people who reject the likes of [[Ariel Sharon]] acting in their name".<ref name="Pilger02">John Pilger [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/sep/23/television.middleeastthemedia "Why my film is under fire"], ''The Guardian'', 23 September 2002</ref> Its broadcast resulted in complaints by the Israeli embassy, the [[Board of Deputies of British Jews]], and the [[Conservative Friends of Israel]] that it was inaccurate and biased.<ref>Stephen Bates [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/sep/20/television.middleeastthemedia "TV chief attacks 'one-sided' Palestinian documentary"], 20 September 2002</ref> [[Michael Green (television magnate)|Michael Green]], chairman of [[Carlton Communications]], the company that made the film, also objected to it in an interview with the [[Jewish Chronicle]].<ref>Leon Symons [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/sep/20/pressandpublishing.broadcasting "Carlton chief slams Pilger's attack on Israel"], ''The Jewish Chronicle'', as reprinted by mediaguardiian, 20 September 2002</ref><ref>Jason Deans [https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/sep/20/pressandpublishing.television "TV boss 'irresponsible' says Pilger"], mediaguardian, 20 September 2002</ref> The UK television regulator, the [[Independent Television Commission]] (ITC), ordered an investigation. The ITC investigation rejected the complaints about the film, stating in its report: <blockquote>The ITC raised with Carlton all the significant areas of inaccuracy critics of the programme alleged and the broadcaster answered them by reference to a range of historical texts. The ITC is not a tribunal of fact and is particularly aware of the difficulties of verifying 'historical fact' but the comprehensiveness and authority of Carlton's sources were persuasive, not least because many appeared to be of Israeli origin.<ref name="ITC03">[http://www.ofcom.org.uk/enwiki/static/archive/itc/uploads/Programme_Complaints_Bulletin_No_6.doc "Programme Complaints and Findings Bulletin No. 6"], ITC, 13 January 2003, pp. 4–5 ([http://www.ofcom.org.uk/enwiki/static/archive/itc/itc_publications/complaints_reports/programme_complaints/show_complaint.asp-prog_complaint_id=576.html now on OFCOM website])</ref></blockquote> The ITC concluded that in Pilger's documentary "adequate opportunity was given to a pro-Israeli government perspective" and that the programme "was not in breach of the ITC Programme Code".<ref name="ITC03"/><ref name="Jury">Louise Jury [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/pilger-cleared-of-bias-in-tv-documentary-on-palestinians-601223.html "Pilger cleared of bias in TV documentary on Palestinians"] {{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''The Independent'', 13 January 2003, accessed on 3 July 2011</ref> ===''Stealing a Nation''=== {{Main|Stealing a Nation}} Pilger's documentary ''[[Stealing a Nation]]'' (2004) recounts the experiences of the late 20th-century trials of the people of the [[Chagos Islands]] in the Indian Ocean. The documentary primarily focuses on the [[Expulsion of the Chagossians|expulsion]] of the [[Chagossians]] by Britain and the USA between 1967 and 1973 to [[Mauritius]], and the poor economic situation faced by the islanders as a result of the deportation. [[Diego Garcia]], the largest island in the Chagos Islands, was given to the [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] which began the construction of a major military base for the region. In the 21st century, the US used the base for planes which were bombing targets in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a 2000 ruling on the events, the [[International Court of Justice]] described the wholesale removal of the Chagossian peoples from the Chagos Islands by Britain as "a [[crime against humanity]]". Pilger strongly criticised [[Tony Blair]] for failing to respond in a substantive way to the 2000 [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] ruling that the expulsion of the [[Chagossians|Chagossian people]] to Mauritius was illegal. In March 2005, ''[[Stealing a Nation]]'' received the [[Royal Television Society]] Award. ===Latin America: ''The War on Democracy'' (2007)=== {{Main|The War on Democracy}} The documentary ''[[The War on Democracy]]'' (2007) was Pilger's first film to be released in the cinema. In "an unremitting assault on American foreign policy since 1945", according to [[Andrew Billen]] in ''[[The Times]]'', the film explores the role of US interventions, overt and covert, in toppling a series of governments in the region, and placing "a succession of favourably disposed bullies in control of its Latino backyard".<ref>{{cite news|last=Billen|first=Andrew|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/arts/tv-radio/article2440873.ece|title=Last Night's TV|work=The Times|location=London|date=21 August 2007|access-date=28 December 2016}} {{subscription required}}</ref> It discusses the US role in the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|overthrow in 1973]] of the democratically elected Chilean leader [[Salvador Allende]], who was replaced by the military dictatorship of [[Augusto Pinochet|General Augusto Pinochet]]. Pilger interviews several ex-[[CIA]] agents who purportedly took part in secret campaigns against democratic governments in South America. It also contains what [[Peter Bradshaw]] in ''The Guardian'' described as "a dewy-eyed interview" with President [[Hugo Chávez]] of Venezuela, which has moments of "almost ''Hello!''-magazine deference".<ref name="Bradshaw">{{cite news|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jun/15/documentary|title=The War on Democracy|work=The Guardian|date=15 June 2007|access-date=28 December 2016}}</ref> Pilger explores the US Army [[School of the Americas]] in the US state of Georgia. Generations of South American military were trained there, with a curriculum including [[counter-insurgency]] techniques. Attendees reportedly included members of Pinochet's security services, along with men from [[Haiti]], [[El Salvador]], [[Argentina]] and [[Brazil]] who have been implicated in human rights abuses. The film also details the [[2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt|attempted overthrow]] of Venezuela's President [[Hugo Chávez]] in 2002. The people of [[Caracas]] rose up to force his return to power. It looks at the wider rise of populist governments across South America, led by figures calling for loosening ties with the United States and attempting a more equitable redistribution of the continent's natural wealth. Of "Chávez's decision to bypass the National Assembly for 18 months, and rule by decree", Peter Bradshaw writes "Pilger passes over it very lightly".<ref name="Bradshaw"/> Pilger said the film is about the struggle of people to free themselves from a modern form of slavery. These people, he says,<blockquote>describe a world not as American presidents like to see it as useful or expendable, they describe the power of courage and humanity among people with next to nothing. They reclaim noble words like democracy, freedom, liberation, justice, and in doing so they are defending the most basic human rights of all of us in a war being waged against all of us.<ref>John Pilger, ''The War on Democracy''</ref></blockquote> ''The War on Democracy'' won the Best Documentary category at the [[One World Media Awards]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards/previous_awards/2008/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609090437/http://oneworldmedia.org.uk/awards/previous_awards/2008/|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 June 2009|title=One World Media :: Awards 2008|date=9 June 2009|access-date=26 May 2018}}</ref> ===''The War You Don't See'' (2010)=== The subject of ''The War You Don’t See'' is the role of the media in making war. It concentrates on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. It begins with the [[Collateral Murder]] video leaked by [[Chelsea Manning]] and released by [[WikiLeaks]]. In an interview, Julian Assange describes WikiLeaks as an organisation that gives power to ‘conscientious objectors’ within ‘power systems’. The documentary contends that the CIA uses intelligence to manipulate public opinion and that the media collude by following the official line. During the documentary Pilger states that "propaganda relies on us in the media to aim its deceptions not at a far away country but at you at home".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Peter |title=The War You Don't See – review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/dec/09/the-war-you-dont-see-review |access-date=7 June 2020 |work=the Guardian |date=9 December 2010 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The War You Don't See |url=https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/war-you-dont-see/ |website=Top Documentary Films |access-date=7 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[http://johnpilger.com/videos/julian-assange-in-conversation-with-john-pilger "Julian Assange in conversation with John Pilger"], johnpilger.com</ref><ref name="Telegraph12">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/9519767/Julian-Assanges-backers-lose-200000-bail-money.html "Julian Assange's backers lose £200,000 bail money"], ''The Telegraph'' (UK), 4 September 2012</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The War You Don't See |url=http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-you-dont-see |website=johnpilger.com |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref> [[John Lloyd (journalist)|John Lloyd]] in the ''[[Financial Times]]'' said ''The War You Don't See'' was a "one-sided" documentary which "had no thought of explaining, even hinting, that the wars fought by the US and the UK had a scrap of just cause, nor of examining the nature of what Pilger simply stated were "lies" – especially those that took the two countries to the invasion of Iraq".<ref name="Lloyd2010">{{cite news|last=Lloyd|first=John|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/318591d6-07cf-11e0-8138-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2HIqapm6b|title=Polemic in the hands of a master propagandist|work=Financial Times|date=17 December 2010|access-date=22 April 2017}}</ref> ===''Utopia'' (2013)=== {{Main|Utopia (2013 film)}} With ''Utopia'', Pilger returned to the experiences of Indigenous Australians and what he termed "the denigrating of their humanity".<ref name="Macnab">Geoffrey Macnab [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/film-review-utopia--john-pilgers-documentary-reveals-shocking-poverty-of-australias-indigenous-communities-8940497.html "Film review: ''Utopia'' – John Pilger's documentary reveals 'shocking poverty' of Australia's indigenous communities"], ''The Independent'', 14 November 2013</ref> A documentary feature film, it takes its title from [[Utopia, Northern Territory|Utopia]], an Aboriginal [[Outstation (Aboriginal community)|homeland]] (also known as an outstation)<ref>Steve Rose [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/16/film-festival-previews-utopia "Utopia And John Pilger Q&A, Framed: film festival previews"], ''The Guardian'', 16 November 2013</ref> in the [[Northern Territory]].<ref>Donald Clarke [http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/john-pilger-on-breaking-the-great-silence-of-australia-s-past-1.1594870 "John Pilger on breaking the Great Silence of Australia’s past"], ''Irish Times'', 15 November 2013</ref> Pilger says that "in essence, very little" has changed since the first of his seven films about the Aboriginal people, ''A Secret Country: The First Australians'' (1985).<ref>Hazel Healy [http://newint.org/columns/finally/2013/11/01/john-pilger/ "John Pilger: Australia’s silent apartheid"], ''New Internationalist'', November 2013</ref> In an interview with the UK based ''Australian Times'' he commented: "the catastrophe imposed on Indigenous Australians is the equivalent of apartheid, and the system has to change".<ref>Alex Ivett [http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/entertainment/interview-john-pilger-exposes-australias-shocking-secret-in-utopia.htm "Interview: John Pilger exposes Australia’s shocking secret in Utopia"], ''Australian Times'', 15 November 2013</ref> Reviewing the film, [[Peter Bradshaw]] wrote: "The awful truth is that Indigenous communities are on mineral-rich lands that cause mouths to water in mining corporation boardrooms".<ref>Peter Bradshaw [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/14/utopia-review "''Utopia'' – review"], ''The Guardian'', 14 November 2013</ref> "When the subject and subjects are allowed to speak for themselves – when Pilger doesn't stand and preach – the injustices glow like throbbing wounds", wrote [[Nigel Andrews]] in the ''[[Financial Times]]'', but the documentary maker "goes on too long. 110 minutes is a hefty time in screen politics, especially when we know the makers' message from scene one".<ref>Nigel Andrews [http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/049ce6a8-4d43-11e3-bf32-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2khq6Vu7w "Review – ''Utopia''"], ''Financial Times'', 14 November 2013</ref> Geoffrey Macnab described it as an "angry, impassioned documentary"<ref name="Macnab"/> while for [[Mark Kermode]] it is a "searing indictment of the ongoing mistreatment" of the first Australians.<ref>Mark Kermode [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/17/utopia-john-pilger-review "''Utopia'' – review"], ''The Observer'', 17 November 2013</ref> ===''The Coming War on China'' (2016)=== ''The Coming War on China'' was Pilger's 60th film for ITV.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20200426103659/https://thecomingwarmovie.com/ The Coming War On China]" (archived), thecomingwarmovie.com.</ref> The film premiered in the UK on Thursday 1 December 2016,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecomingwarmovie.com/screenings|title=Screenings - The Coming War On China|website=The Coming War On China|access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> and was shown on ITV at 10.40&nbsp;pm on Tuesday 6 December and on the Australian public broadcaster [[SBS (Australian TV channel)|SBS]] on 16 April 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week49/coming-war-china|title=The Coming War on China Episode 1|website=Itv.com}}</ref> In the documentary, according to Pilger, "the evidence and witnesses warn that nuclear war is no longer a shadow, but a contingency. The greatest build-up of American-led military forces since the Second World War is well under way. They are on the western borders of Russia, and in Asia and the Pacific, confronting China. Like the renewal of post-Soviet Russia, the rise of China as an economic power is declared an 'existential threat' to the divine right of the United States to rule and dominate human affairs".<ref>{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=John|url=https://newint.org/features/2016/12/01/the-coming-war-on-china/|title=The coming war on China|work=New Internationalist|date=December 2016|access-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> "The first third told, and told well, the unforgivable, unconscionable tale of what has overtaken the Marshall Islanders since 1946, when the US first nuked the test site on Bikini Atoll" beginning an [[Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll|extended series of tests]], wrote Euan Ferguson in ''The Observer''. "Over the next 12 years they would unleash a total of 42.2 megatons. The islanders, as forensically proved by Pilger, were effectively guinea pigs for [the] effects of radiation".<ref name="Ferguson">{{cite news|last=Ferguson|first=Euan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/11/the-week-in-tv-in-plain-sight-this-is-us-the-coming-war-on-china|title=The week in TV: In Plain Sight; This Is Us; The Coming War on China|work=The Observer|date=11 December 2016|access-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> Ferguson wrote that the rest of the film "was a sane, sober, necessary, deeply troubling bucketful of worries".<ref name="Ferguson"/> [[Peter Bradshaw]] in ''The Guardian'' wrote that the film "lays bare the historical horrors of the US military in the Pacific, exposing the paranoia and pre-emptive aggression of its semi-secret bases," adding: "This is a gripping film, which though it comes close to excusing China ... does point out China's insecurities and political cruelties".<ref>{{cite news|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/dec/01/the-coming-war-on-china-review-john-pilger-documentary-obama-us-nuclear|title=The Coming War on China review – discomfiting doc exposes US nuclear tactics|work=The Guardian|date=1 December 2016|access-date=26 December 2016}}</ref> Neil Young of ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' called the film an "authoritative indictment of American nefariousness in the western Pacific".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/coming-war-china-952597|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Neil|last=Young|date=19 December 2016|title='The Coming War on China': Film Review}}</ref> Kevin Maher wrote in ''The Times'' that he admired the early sequences on the Marshall Islands, but that he believed the film lacked nuance or subtlety. Maher wrote that, for Pilger, China is "a brilliant place with just some 'issues with human rights', but let's not go into that now".<ref>{{cite news|last=Maher|first=Kevin|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-coming-war-on-china-rmfccbh2s|title=The Coming War on China|work=The Times|location=London|date=2 December 2016|access-date=26 December 2016}} {{subscription required}}</ref> ''[[The Diplomat|Diplomat]]'' columnist David Hutt said "Pilger consistently glosses over China's past crimes while dwelling on America's".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hutt |first=David |date=23 December 2016 |title=The Trouble With John Pilger's The Coming War on China: A closer look at a new documentary |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/12/the-trouble-with-john-pilgers-the-coming-war-on-china/ |magazine=The Diplomat}}</ref> ===''The Dirty War on the National Health Service'' (2019)=== Pilger's ''The Dirty War on the National Health Service'' was released in the UK on 29 November 2019 and examined the changes that the [[National Health Service|NHS]] has undergone since its founding in 1948. Pilger makes the case that governments beginning with that of Margaret Thatcher have waged a secret war against the NHS with a view to privatising it slowly and surreptitiously. Pilger predicted that moves toward privatisation would create more poverty and homelessness and that the resulting chaos would be used as an argument for further "reform". Peter Bradshaw described the documentary as a "fierce, necessary film".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bradshaw |first1=Peter |title=The Dirty War on the National Health Service review – fierce and necessary diatribe |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/nov/28/the-dirty-war-on-the-national-health-service-review-john-pilger-documentary |access-date=7 June 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=28 November 2019}}</ref> ==Views (1999–present)== ===Bush, Blair, Howard and wars=== In 2003 and 2004, Pilger criticised United States President [[George W. Bush]], saying that he had used the [[September 11 attacks|9/11 terrorist attacks]] as an excuse to [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invade Iraq]] as part of a strategy to increase US control of the world's oil supplies.<ref name="glw120203">{{cite web |last1=Pilger |first1=John |title=John Pilger: Why Bush lies about Iraq |url=https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/john-pilger-why-bush-lies-about-iraq |website=Green Left |publisher=Green Left|access-date=29 July 2020 |language=en |date=12 February 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=They put the lie to their own propaganda |url=http://socialistworker.org/2003-2/477/477_05_Pilger.php |website=socialistworker.org |publisher=Socialist Worker |access-date=29 July 2020}}</ref> In 2004, Pilger criticised British Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] as equally responsible for the invasion and the bungled [[History of Iraq (2003–2011)|occupation of Iraq]].<ref>John Pilger [http://www.johnpilger.com/articles/iraq-the-unthinkable-becomes-normal "Iraq: the unthinkable becomes normal"], johnpilger.com, 15 November 2004</ref> In 2004, as the Iraq insurgency increased, Pilger wrote that the anti-war movement should support "Iraq's anti-occupation resistance: <blockquote>We cannot afford to be choosy. While we abhor and condemn the continuing loss of innocent life in Iraq, we have no choice now but to support the [[Iraqi Insurgency|resistance]], for if the resistance fails, the "Bush gang" will attack another country".<ref>Pip Hinman & John Pilger [http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/30650 "Pilger interview: Truth and lies in the 'war on terror'"], ''Green Left'' (Australia), 28 January 2004</ref></blockquote> Pilger described Australian Prime Minister [[John Howard]] as "the mouse that roars for America, whipping his country into war fever and paranoia about terrorism within". He thought Howard's willingness to "join the Bush/Blair assault on Iraq ... evok[ed] a melancholy history of obsequious service to great power: from the [[Boxer Rebellion]] to the [[Boer war]], to the disaster at Gallipoli, and [[Korean war|Korea]], [[Vietnam war|Vietnam]] and the [[Gulf war|Gulf]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pilger |first1=John |title=George Bush's other poodle |url=http://johnpilger.com/articles/george-bushs-other-poodle |website=johnpilger.com |access-date=8 June 2020 |date=20 January 2003}}</ref> On 25 July 2005, Pilger ascribed blame for the [[7 July 2005 London bombings|2005 London bombings]] that month to Blair. He wrote that Blair's decision to follow Bush helped to generate the rage that Pilger said precipitated the bombings.<ref>John Pilger, [http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=369 "Blair's bombs"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929023032/http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=369 |date=29 September 2007 }}, John Pilger website, 25 July 2005</ref> In his column a year later, Pilger described Blair as a [[war criminal]] for supporting Israel's actions during the [[2006 Lebanon War|2006 Israel–Lebanon conflict]]. He said that Blair gave permission to Israeli Prime Minister [[Ariel Sharon]] in 2001 to initiate what would ultimately become [[Operation Defensive Shield]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=406|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061101054246/http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=406|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 November 2006|title=ITV - John Pilger - The real threat we face in Britain is Blair|date=1 November 2006|access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> In 2014, Pilger wrote that "The truth about the criminal bloodbath in Iraq cannot be "countered" indefinitely. Neither can the truth about our support for the medievalists in [[Saudi Arabia]], the nuclear-armed predators in [[Israel]], the new military fascists in [[Egypt]] and the jihadist "liberators" of Syria, whose propaganda is now BBC news".<ref>{{cite news |title=The truth about the criminal bloodbath in Iraq can't be 'countered' indefinitely |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/07/west-criminal-bloodbath-iraq-media-cover-up |work=The Guardian |date=7 February 2014}}</ref> ===Barack Obama=== Pilger criticised [[Barack Obama]] during his presidential campaign of 2008, saying that he was "a glossy [[Uncle Tom]] who would bomb [[Pakistan]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=471|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080131081440/http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=471|url-status=dead|archive-date=31 January 2008|title=ITV - John Pilger - The danse macabre of US-style democracy|date=31 January 2008|access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> and his theme "was the renewal of America as a dominant, avaricious bully". After Obama was elected and took office in 2009, Pilger wrote, "In his first 100 days, Obama has excused torture, opposed ''[[habeas corpus]]'' and demanded more secret government".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=530|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090503223319/http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=530|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 May 2009|title=ITV - John Pilger - Obama's 100 days - the man men did well|date=3 May 2009|access-date=20 May 2018}}</ref> [[Sunny Hundal]] wrote in ''The Guardian'' during November 2008 that the "Uncle Tom" slur used against Obama "highlights a patronising attitude towards ethnic minorities. Pilger expects all black and brown people to be revolutionary brothers and sisters, and if they veer away from that stereotype, it can only be because they are pawns of a wider conspiracy".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hundal|first=Sunny|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/nov/30/obama-white-house-barackobama|title=The racist flipside of anti-imperialism|work=The Guardian|date=30 November 2008|access-date=13 October 2015}}</ref> ===Support for Julian Assange=== [[File:John Pilger, Richard Gizbert, and Julian Assange - The Wikileaks Files - Book Launch - London - 29th September 2015.jpg|thumb|John Pilger, [[Richard Gizbert]], and [[Julian Assange]] – 'The [[WikiLeaks]] Files' Book Launch – [[Foyles]], London, 29 September 2015]] Pilger supported [[Julian Assange]] by pledging [[Bail#England and Wales|bail]] in December 2010. Pilger said at the time: "There's no doubt that he is not going to abscond".<ref>PA Mediapoint [http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/46453 "Wikileaks founder Assange free after being granted bail"], {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502234144/http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/46453 |date= 2 May 2013 }} ''Press Gazette'', 16 December 200</ref> Assange sought asylum in the [[Embassy of Ecuador, London|Embassy of Ecuador]] in London in 2012 and Pilger's bail money was lost when a judge ordered it to be forfeited.<ref name="Telegraph12"/> Pilger has been critical of the media's treatment of Assange saying: "The same brave newspapers and broadcasters that have supported Britain’s part in epic bloody crimes, from the genocide in Indonesia to the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, now attack the “human rights record” of Ecuador, whose real crime is to stand up to the bullies in London and Washington".<ref name="ns220812" /> He criticised the failure of the Australian government to object when it "repeatedly received confirmation that the US was conducting an “unprecedented” pursuit of Assange" and noted that one of the reasons Ecuador gave for granting asylum to Assange was his abandonment by Australia.<ref name="ns220812" /> Pilger visited Assange in the embassy and has continued to support him.<ref name="ns220812">{{cite news |last1=Pilger |first1=John |title=The pursuit of Julian Assange is an assault on freedom and a mockery of journalism |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics/2012/08/pursuit-julian-assange-assault-freedom-and-mockery-journalism |access-date=7 June 2020 |work=www.newstatesman.com |publisher=New Statesman |date=22 August 2012 |ref=ns220812 |language=en}}</ref> ===Comments about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton=== In a February 2016 webchat on the website of ''The Guardian'' newspaper, Pilger said "Trump is speaking straight to ordinary Americans". Although his opinions about immigration were "gross", Pilger wrote that they are "no more gross in essence than, say, [[David Cameron]]'s – he is not planning to invade anywhere, he doesn't hate the Russians or the Chinese, he is not beholden to Israel. People like this lack of cant, and when the so-called liberal media deride him, they like him even more".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://politicalscrapbook.net/2016/02/john-pilger-praises-trump-says-he-has-an-absence-of-hypocrisy/|title=John Pilger Praises Trump, Says He Has an 'Absence of Hypocrisy'|work=Political Scrapbook|date=24 February 2016|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> In March 2016, Pilger commented in a speech delivered at the [[University of Sydney]] during the [[2016 United States presidential election]], that [[Donald Trump]] was a less dangerous potential President of the United States than [[Hillary Clinton]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Intondi|first=Vincent|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vincent-intondi/no-hillary-clinton-is-not_b_9544458.html|title=No, Hillary Clinton Is Not Worse Than Donald Trump|work=The Huffington post|date=25 March 2016|access-date=28 October 2016}}</ref> In November 2016, Pilger said that "notorious terrorist jihadist group called [[ISIL]] or ISIS is created largely with money from [the government of [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] and the government of Qatar] who are giving money to the [[Clinton Foundation]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=Julian Assange interview: WikiLeaks editor talks to John Pilger about US election and the leaked Hillary Clinton, John Podesta emails |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/julian-assange-interview-wikileaks-editor-talks-to-john-pilger-about-us-election-and-the-leaked-hillary-clinton-john-podesta-emails-35195720.html |work=Belfast Telegraph |date=7 November 2016}}</ref> In August 2017, in an article published on his website, Pilger wrote that a "coup against the man in the White House is under way. This is not because he is an odious human being, but because he has consistently made clear he does not want war with Russia. This glimpse of sanity, or simple pragmatism, is anathema to the 'national security' managers who guard a system based on war, surveillance, armaments, threats and extreme [[capitalism]]". According to Pilger, ''The Guardian'' has published "drivel" in covering the claims "that the [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States election|Russians conspired with Trump]]". Such assertions, he writes, are "reminiscent of the far-right smearing of [[John F. Kennedy|John Kennedy]] as a 'Soviet agent'".<ref>{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=John|url=http://johnpilger.com/articles/on-the-beach-2017-the-beckoning-of-nuclear-war|title=On the Beach 2017. The Reckoning of Nuclear War|work=John Pilger|date=4 August 2017|access-date=5 August 2017}}</ref> ===Russia=== {{Quote box |quote = With the absence of a Russian "invasion" a bitter disappointment to its most avid promoters in London, this expose of [[Operation Orbital]], the British army's secretive role in Ukraine, is recommended. |author = John Pilger, 3 days before [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russian forces invaded Ukraine]]. |source = <ref>{{cite tweet|number=1495801529764306951|user=johnpilger|title=With the absence of a Russian "invasion" a bitter disappointment to its most avid promoters in London, this expose…|date=21 February 2022}}</ref> |quoted = 1 |width = 50% |align = right }} On the [[Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal]] in Salisbury, Wiltshire on 4 March 2018, Pilger said in an interview on [[RT (TV network)|RT]]: "This is a carefully constructed drama as part of the propaganda campaign that has been building now for several years in order to justify the actions of NATO, Britain and the United States, towards Russia. That’s a fact". Such events as the [[Iraq War]], "at the very least should make us sceptical of [[Theresa May|Theresa May’s]] theatrics in Parliament". He hinted that the UK government may have been involved in the attack, saying it had motive and that the nearby [[Porton Down]] laboratory has a "long and sinister record with nerve gas and chemical weapons".<ref>{{cite news|last=Mayhew|first=Freddy|url=http://pressgazette.co.uk/journalist-john-pilger-says-ex-russian-spy-poisoning-case-is-a-carefully-constructed-drama-in-which-the-media-plays-a-role/|title=Journalist John Pilger says ex-Russian spy poisoning case is a 'carefully constructed drama in which the media plays a role'|work=Press Gazette|date=20 March 2018|access-date=20 March 2018}}</ref> ===China=== According to Pilger, "American bases form a giant noose encircling [[China]] with missiles, bombers, warships - all the way from Australia through the Pacific to Asia and beyond. ... There are no Chinese naval ships and no Chinese bases off California".<ref>{{cite news |title=John Pilger Q&A: 'US missiles are pointed at China' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/11/john-pilger-qa-missiles-pointed-china-171129123444414.html |publisher=Al-Jazeera |date=6 December 2017}}</ref> === Brexit === On voting to leave the European Union, Pilger wrote in 2016 "The majority vote by Britons to leave the European Union was an act of raw democracy. Millions of ordinary people refused to be bullied, intimidated and dismissed with open contempt by their presumed betters in the major parties, the leaders of the business and banking oligarchy and the media.This was, in great part, a vote by those angered and demoralised by the sheer arrogance of the apologists for the "remain" campaign and the dismemberment of a socially just civil life in Britain. The last bastion of the historic reforms of 1945, the National Health Service, has been so subverted by Tory and Labour-supported privateers it is fighting for its life."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Why the British said no to Europe|url=http://johnpilger.com/articles/why-the-british-said-no-to-europe|access-date=16 November 2020|website=johnpilger.com}}</ref> ==Criticism of the mainstream media== Pilger has criticised many journalists of the mainstream media. During the administration of President [[Bill Clinton]] in the US, Pilger attacked the [[British-American Project]] as an example of "Atlanticist [[freemasonry]]". He asserted in November 1998 that "many members are journalists, the essential foot soldiers in any network devoted to power and propaganda".<ref>{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=John|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/having-fun-time-new-orleans-latest-recruits-sorry-alumni-latter-day-reaganism|title=Having a fun time in New Orleans: the latest recruits (sorry, "alumni") of latter-day Reaganism|work=New Statesman|date=13 November 1998}}</ref> In 2002, he said that "many journalists now are no more than channellers and echoers of what [[George Orwell|Orwell]] called the official truth".<ref>David Barsamian [http://www.progressive.org/nov02/intv1102.html "Interview with John Pliger"], ''The Progressive'', November 2002</ref> In 2003, he criticised what he called the "liberal lobby" which "promote killing" from "behind a humanitarian mask". He said [[David Aaronovitch]] exemplified the "mask-wearers" and noted that Aaronovitch had written that the attack on Iraq will be "the easy bit".<ref>John Pilger [http://www.newstatesman.com/node/144799 "As the world protests against war, we hear again the lies of old"], ''New Statesman'', 17 April 2003. Also published as John Pilger [http://johnpilger.com/articles/as-the-world-protests-against-war-we-hear-again-the-lies-of-old "As the world protests against war, we hear again the lies of old"], johnpilger.com, 17 April 2003</ref> Aaronovitch responded to an article by Pilger about the mainstream media<ref>John Pilger [http://www.newstatesman.com/node/145294 "John Pilger finds journalism rotting away"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617184539/http://www.newstatesman.com/node/145294 |date=17 June 2015 }}, ''New Statesman'', 28 April 2003 (The date given on the ''NS'' website is for the date of publication online.)</ref> in 2003 as one of his "typical pieces about the corruption of most journalists (ie<!-- So rendered in the source. --> people like me [Aaronovitch]) versus the bravery of a few (ie people like him)".<ref>David Aaronovitch [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/apr/27/labour.uk "Lies and the Left"], ''The Observer'', 27 April 2003</ref> In an address at [[Columbia University]] on 14 April 2006, he said: <blockquote> During the [[Cold War]], a group of Russian journalists toured the United States. On the final day of their visit, they were asked by their hosts for their impressions. 'I have to tell you,' said their spokesman, 'that we were astonished to find after reading all the newspapers and watching TV, that all the opinions on all the vital issues were by and large, the same. To get that result in our country, we imprison people, we tear out their fingernails. Here, you don't have that. What's the secret? How do you do it?'{{cite book |last= Beattie|first= Peter |author-link= |date= 2018|title= Social Evolution, Political Psychology, and the Media in Democracy: The Invisble Hand in the US Marketlce of Ideas|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=829_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PP5|location= |publisher= Springer|page= 248|isbn=9783030028015}}</blockquote> On another occasion, while speaking to journalism students at the [[University of Lincoln]], Pilger said that mainstream journalism means corporate journalism. As such, he believes it represents vested corporate interests more than those of the public.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thelinc.co.uk/2009/10/john-pilger-explains-why-journalism-matters/ |title=John Pilger explains "why journalism matters" &#124; The Linc |date=15 October 2009 |publisher=Thelinc.co.uk |access-date=14 January 2010}}</ref> In September 2014, Pilger wrote critically of ''The Guardian'' and other western media, regarding their reporting on [[Malaysia Airlines Flight 17]], writing "Without a single piece of evidence, the US and its NATO allies and their media machines blamed ethnic [[Russian seperatist forces in Donbas| Russian 'separatists' in Ukraine]] and implied that Moscow was ultimately responsible". He asserted that "the newspaper has made no serious attempt to examine who shot the aeroplane down and why".<ref name="Pilger110414">{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=John|url=http://johnpilger.com/articles/breaking-the-last-taboo-gaza-and-the-threat-of-world-war|title=Breaking the last taboo – Gaza and the threat of world war|work=John Pilger.com|date=11 September 2014|access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref> In January 2020, Pilger tweeted scepticism of contemporary mainstream narratives about the downing of MH17, and the downing of [[Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752]] over Iran, saying "Lie upon lie. Hiroshima necessary to defeat Japan. Vietnam [[Gulf of Tonkin incident|attacked US ships]] in Gulf of Tonkin. [[Saddam Hussein]] had WMD. [[2011 military intervention in Libya|Libya invaded to prevent massacre]]. Russia shot down MH17/put Trump in the White House. The US, not Russia, defeated Isis. Add Iran shot down Ukrainian airliner".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pilger |first1=John |title=Archived tweet (11 January 2020) |url=https://twitter.com/johnpilger/status/1215768919912460289 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111025537/https://twitter.com/johnpilger/status/1215768919912460289 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2020 |website=Twitter via Wayback Machine |access-date=11 January 2020}}</ref> ===BBC=== Pilger wrote in December 2002, of British broadcasting's requirement for "impartiality" as being "a euphemism for the consensual view of established authority".<ref name="Pilger051202">{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=John|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/node/192546|title=John Pilger prefers the web to TV news – it's more honest online|work=New Statesman|date=5 December 2002|access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref> He wrote that "BBC television news faithfully echoed word for word" government "propaganda designed to soften up the public for Blair's attack on Iraq".<ref name="Pilger051202"/> In his documentary ''[[The War You Don't See]]'' (2010), Pilger returned to this theme and accused the BBC of failing to cover the viewpoint of the victims, civilians caught up in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.<ref>{{cite news|last=Williams|first=Jon|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2010/12/the_wars_you_dont_see.html|title=The Wars You Don't See|work=BBC News|date=10 December 2010|access-date=20 April 2018}}</ref> He has additionally pointed to the 48 documentaries on Ireland made for the BBC and ITV between 1959 and the late-1980s which were delayed or altered before transmission, or totally suppressed.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pilger |first=John |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dcL6w-VmjWwC&pg=PA517 |title=Heroes |location= Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher= South End Press |year= 2001 |page= 517|isbn=9780896086661 }} (original published by Vintage [Random House], London, 2001 [1986])</ref> ==Personal life== Pilger was married to journalist Scarth Flett, granddaughter of the physician and geologist [[John Flett (geologist)|Sir John Smith Flett]].<ref>[http://www.rousayroots.com/F265.html#F280 Sir John Smith Flett KBE, FRS] ''www.rousayroots.com'' accessed 14 February 2022</ref> Their son Sam was born in 1973 and is a sports writer. Pilger also has a daughter, [[Zoe Pilger]], born 1984, with journalist [[Yvonne Roberts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://johnpilger.com/biography |title=John Pilger Biography |website=Johnpilger.com |access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/john-pilger-writer-of-wrongs-1-1124926 |title=John Pilger: writer of wrongs |newspaper=[[The Scotsman]] |date=1 July 2006 |access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref> Zoe is an author and art critic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoepilger.co.uk/ |title=Zoe Pilger Homepage |website=Zoe-pilger |access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref> ==Honours and awards== <!-- The references in this list should be updated as soon as the Society of Editors have reorganised their site. Currently, the archive of previous award winners is a dead link on their live site, so I had to take recourse at Wayback Machine. The links under "Other awards" may have been taken from Pilger's own page and should be supported by further references. See especially [[WP:N|notability]] & [[WP:IRS|Identifying reliable sources.--> [[The Press Awards]], formerly the British Press Awards * 1966: Descriptive Writer of the Year<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=1962-1969-Winners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025123616/http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=1962-1969-Winners|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2017|title=Press Awards Winners 1970–1979, Society of Editors |access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> * 1967: Journalist of the Year<ref name="auto"/> * 1970: International Reporter of the Year<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=1970-1979-Winners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025111605/http://www.pressawards.org.uk/page-view.php?pagename=1970-1979-Winners|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 October 2017|title=Press Awards Winners 1970–1979, Society of Editors |access-date=22 May 2018}}</ref> * 1974: News Reporter of the Year<ref name="auto1"/> * 1978: Campaigning Journalist of the Year<ref name="auto1"/> * 1979: Journalist of the Year<ref name="auto1"/> Other awards * 1991: Television [[Richard Dimbleby]] Award, [[BAFTA]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1991/television/richard-dimbleby-award|title=Richard Dimbleby Award in 1991|website=Awards.bafta.org}}</ref> * 1991: At [[19th International Emmy Awards]] Emmy for documentary 'Cambodia, the Betrayal'<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iemmys.tv/awards_previous.aspx|title=International Emmy Awards|website=Iemmys.tv|access-date=24 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019013207/https://www.iemmys.tv/awards_previous.aspx|archive-date=19 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> * 2009: [[Sydney Peace Prize]]<ref name=SPP /> * 2011: Grierson Trust Award, UK<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.griersontrust.org/grierson-awards/past-awards/2011/the-grierson-awards-2011-winners/|title=The Grierson Awards 2011: Winners; Honda – The Trustees' Award: John Pilger|publisher=The Grierson Trust|date=2011|access-date=4 November 2016}}</ref> * 2017: [[Order of Timor-Leste]]<ref>[http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-universal-lesson-of-the-courage-of-east-timor JohnPilger.com: The universal lesson of the courage of East Timor]. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.</ref> ==Reception== <!--in chrono order--> * [[Martha Gellhorn]], the American novelist, journalist and war correspondent, said that "[John Pilger] has taken on the great theme of justice and injustice... He documents and proclaims the official lies that we are told and that most people accept or don't bother to think about. [He] belongs to an old and unending worldwide company, the men and women of conscience. Some are as famous as [[Thomas Paine|Tom Paine]] and [[William Wilberforce]], some as unknown as a tiny group calling itself Grandmothers Against The Bomb.... If they win, it is slowly; but they never entirely lose. To my mind, they are the blessed proof of the dignity of man. John has an assured place among them. I'd say he is a charter member for his generation".<ref>Martha Gellhorn, Preface to 'Distant Voices' by John Pilger, 12 July 1991</ref> * [[Noam Chomsky]] said of Pilger: "John Pilger's work has been a beacon of light in often dark times. The realities he has brought to light have been a revelation, over and over again, and his courage and insight a constant inspiration".<ref>Noam Chomsky, introduction to Pilger's ''[[The New Rulers of the World]]'', April 2002</ref> * According to [[Harold Pinter]], [[Nobel Laureate]] and member of the [[Stop the War Coalition]], "John Pilger is fearless. He unearths, with steely attention to facts, the filthy truth, and tells it as it is... I salute him".<ref name="robert-fisk1" /> * [[John Simpson (journalist)|John Simpson]], the [[BBC]]'s world affairs editor, has said, "A country that does not have a John Pilger in its journalism is a very feeble place indeed".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1258472594&channel=301939273|title=Insight with John Simpson – The World According to Simpson – Brightcove|date=3 May 2008|website=Brightcove.tv|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503152807/http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1258472594&channel=301939273|archive-date=3 May 2008}}</ref> * The Anglo-American writer [[Christopher Hitchens]] said of Pilger: "I remember thinking that his work from Vietnam was very good at the time. I dare say if I went back and read it again I'd probably still admire quite a lot of it. But there is a word that gets overused and can be misused – namely, anti-American – and it has to be used about him. So that for me sort of spoils it... even when I'm inclined to agree".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/interview-christopher-hitchens/|title=Interview: Christopher Hitchens – Article – The Punch|date=4 October 2009|website=Thepunch.com.au|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091004113327/http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/interview-christopher-hitchens/|archive-date=4 October 2009}}</ref> * Shortly after Pilger won the [[Sydney Peace Prize]] in 2009,<ref name="SPP">{{cite web|title=2009 John Pilger|url=http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/peace-prize-recipients/2009-john-pilger/|access-date=12 January 2013|publisher=Sydney Peace Foundation}}</ref> the Australian commentator [[Gerard Henderson]] accused Pilger of "engaging in hyperbole against western democracies".<ref>{{cite news|last=Henderson|first=Gerard|date=10 November 2009|title=Pilger loath to hear roar of dissent|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|url=http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/pilger-loath-to-hear-the-roar-of-dissent-20091109-i58s.html?comments=98|access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref> * ''[[The Economist]]''{{'s}} Lexington columnist criticised Pilger's account of the Arab uprising, writing that he "thinks the Arab revolts show that the West in general and the United States in particular are 'fascist'", adding, "what most of the Arab protesters say they want are the very freedoms that they know full well, even if Pilger doesn't, to be available in the West".<ref>[https://www.economist.com/blogs/lexington/2011/02/westerners_against_west?page=2 Lexington's Notebook: "Libya and the higher bilge"], ''The Economist'', 27 February 2011. Accessed on 15 March 2011. The author was commenting on the Pilger article [http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2011/02/pilger-fascism-bahrain-egypt "Behind the Arab revolt lurks a word we dare not speak"], ''New Statesman'', 24 February 2011</ref> * In ''Breaking the Silence: The Films of John Pilger'', [[Anthony Hayward]] wrote, "For half a century, he has been an ever stronger voice for those without a voice and a thorn in the side of authority, the Establishment. His work, particularly his documentary films, has also made him rare in being a journalist who is universally known, a champion of those for whom he fights and the scourge of politicians and others whose actions he exposes".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.profilesinternationalmedia.co.uk/books.html |title=Books |publisher=Profiles International Media |access-date=2 November 2016}}</ref><ref>''Breaking the Silence: The Films of John Pilger'', Anthony Hayward (Profiles International Media, 2013)</ref> * The ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine columnist [[Jonathan Chait]] responded to Pilger's 13 May 2014 column in ''The Guardian'' about [[Ukraine]].<ref>John Pilger [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/13/ukraine-us-war-russia-john-pilger "In Ukraine, the US is dragging us towards war with Russia"], ''The Guardian'', 13 May 2014</ref> Chait wrote that Pilger was "defending [[Vladimir Putin]] on the grounds that he stands opposed to the United States, which is the font of all evil" and that his "attempt to cast land-grabbing, ultranationalist dictator Vladimir Putin as an enemy of fascism is comical".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chait |first1=Jonathan |title=Guardian Columnist: Putin Is a Great Democrat, Like Hugo Chávez or Castro |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2014/05/guardian-columnist-putin-is-a-great-democrat.html |website=Intelligencer |access-date=18 October 2020 |language=en-us |date=14 May 2014}}</ref> US Government funded [[Radio Free Europe]] claimed that Pilger's column contained a bogus quote regarding the [[2014 Odessa clashes|Odessa]] massacre of May 2014.<ref>Luke Johnson [http://www.rferl.org/content/guardian-op-ed-quotes-cryptic-odesa-doctor-seen-as-hoax/25385076.html "'Guardian' Op-Ed Quotes Cryptic Odesa 'Doctor' Seen As Hoax"], [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]], 14 May 2014</ref><ref>See also Michael Mossbacher [http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/5641/full "Putin has his Useful Idiots on the Left and the Right"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620180907/http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/5641/full |date=20 June 2018 }}, ''[[Standpoint (magazine)|Standpoint]]'', July/August 2014</ref> == Legacy == The John Pilger Archive is housed at the [[British Library]]. The papers can be accessed through the British Library catalogue.<ref>[http://searcharchives.bl.uk/IAMS_VU2:IAMS032-003387365 John Pilger Archive], archives and manuscripts catalogue, the British Library. Retrieved 15 May 2020</ref> ==Bibliography== '''Books''' {{col-begin|width=100%}} {{col-break|width=50%}} * ''The Last Day'' (1975) * ''Aftermath: The Struggles of Cambodia and Vietnam'' (1981) * ''The Outsiders'' (with [[Michael Coren]], 1984) * ''Heroes'' (1986), {{ISBN|978-1407086293}} (2001) * ''A Secret Country'' (1989) * ''Distant Voices'' (1992 and 1994) {{col-break|width=50%}} * ''Hidden Agendas'' (1998) * ''Reporting the World: John Pilger's Great Eyewitness Photographers'' (2001) * ''The New Rulers of the World'' (2002; 4th ed. 2016) * ''Tell Me No Lies: Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs'' (ed.) Cape (2004) * ''Freedom Next Time'' (2006) {{col-end}} '''Plays''' * ''The Last Day'' (1983) ===Documentaries=== {{col-begin|width=100%}} {{col-break|width=50%}} * ''World in Action'' ** "The Quiet Mutiny" (1970) *Conversations With a Working Man (1971) *Palestine Is Still The Issue (Part 1) (1974) *Vietnam: Still America's War (1974) *Guilty Until Proven Innocent (John Pilger) (1974) *Thalidomide: The Ninety-Eight We Forgot (1974) *The Most Powerful Politician in America (1974) *One British Family (1974) * ''Pilger'' ** "An Unfashionable Tragedy" (1975) ** "Nobody's Children" (1975) ** "Zap-The Weapon is Food" (1976) ** "Pyramid Lake is Dying" (1976) ** "Street of Joy" (1976) ** "A Faraway Country" (1977) *Mr Nixon's Secret Legacy (1975) *Smashing Kids] (1975) *To Know Us Is To Love Us (1975) *A Nod & A Wink (1975) *Pilger in Australia (1976) *Dismantling A Dream (1977) *An Unjustifiable Risk (1977) *The Selling of the Sea (1978) * ''Do You Remember Vietnam'' (1978) * ''[[Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia]]'' (1979) * ''The Mexicans'' (1980) *Cambodia: Year One (1980) * ''Heroes'' (1980) *Island of Dreams (John Pilger)(1981) * ''In Search of Truth in Wartime'' (1983) {{col-break|width=50%}} * ''Nicaragua. A Nations Right to Survive'' (1983) * ''The Outsiders'' (series, 1983) * ''The Truth Game'' (1983) * ''Burp! Pepsi V Coke in the Ice Cold War'' (1984) * ''[[The Secret Country: The First Australians Fight Back]]'' (1985) * ''Japan Behind the Mask'' (1987) * ''The Last Dream'' (1988) ** "Heroes unsung" ** "Secrets" ** "Other People's Wars" *Cambodia: Year Ten (1989) * ''Cambodia, the Betrayal'' (1990) * ''War By Other Means'' (1992) * ''Cambodia: Return to Year Zero'' (1993) * ''[[Death of a Nation: The Timor Conspiracy]]'' (1994) * ''Flying the Flag, Arming the World'' (1994) * ''[[Vietnam: The Last Battle]]'' (1995) * ''[[Inside Burma: Land of Fear]]'' (1996) * ''Breaking the Mirror – The Murdoch Effect'' (1997) * ''Apartheid Did Not Die'' (1998) * ''[[Welcome to Australia]]'' (1999) * ''[[Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq]]'' (2000) * ''The New Rulers of the World'' (2001) * ''[[Palestine Is Still the Issue]]'' (2002) * ''[[Breaking the Silence: Truth and Lies in the War on Terror]]'' (2003) * ''[[Stealing a Nation]]'' (2004) * ''[[The War on Democracy]]'' (2007) * ''[[The War You Don't See]]'' (2010) * ''[[Utopia (2013 film)|Utopia]]'' (2013) * ''The Coming War on China'' (2016) * ''The Dirty War on the NHS'' (2019) {{col-end}} ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == {{wikiquote}} {{Commons category}} * {{Official website|http://johnpilger.com/}} * {{IMDb name|0683400|John Pilger}} * [http://www.democracynow.org/2007/8/7/freedom_next_time_filmmaker_journalist_john ''Freedom Next Time: Filmmaker & Journalist John Pilger on Propaganda, the Press, Censorship and Resisting the American Empire''], ''[[Democracy Now!]]'', 7 August 2007 * [http://www.randomhouse.com.au/authors/john-pilger.aspx John Pilger at Random House Australia] {{John Pilger}} {{Vietnam War correspondents}} {{Footer Sydney Peace Prize laureates}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Pilger, John}} [[Category:1939 births]] [[Category:20th-century Australian journalists]] [[Category:21st-century Australian journalists]] [[Category:Anti-Americanism]] [[Category:Australian documentary filmmakers]] [[Category:Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Australian freelance journalists]] [[Category:Australian investigative journalists]] [[Category:Australian people of English descent]] [[Category:Australian people of German descent]] [[Category:Australian people of Irish descent]] [[Category:Australian war correspondents]] [[Category:Daily Mirror people]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People educated at Sydney Boys High School]] [[Category:People from Sydney]] [[Category:War correspondents of the Nigerian Civil War]] [[Category:War correspondents of the Vietnam War]]'