Big media agencies try to proliferate their branches in every nook and cranny of the world. Have we ever thought of the reason for this proliferation? Some argue that they do so in order to remove the geographical boundaries through dissemination of information, materializing the idea of the global village.

But others argue that the main reason behind the attempts of big media agencies -- although independent on the surface -- is to serve their governments in different parts of the world.

Therefore, at times these news agencies become the mouthpiece of their governments; instead of dispatching factual reports, they dispatch biased, prejudiced reports about other countries which reflect the aspirations of their respective governments.

For example, on December 18 Reuters dispatched a story from Tehran that was a clear instance of distortion of Ali Akbar Mohatashamipour's statement.

Mohatashamipour had announced that his faction, 2nd Khordad, had decided to hold a dialogue with the pillars of the system -- the Leader, the head of the Expediency Council, and heads of the three branches of the government -- in order to create friendship and understanding and remove tension in society.

But Reuters quoted him as saying, "Allies of Iran's embattled President Mohammad Khatami have moved to make peace with powerful conservatives in the hope of saving his tottering reform program."

Through similar distorted stories the same agency tries to sow seeds of discord among Iranian political factions. Moreover, in its dispatches from Tehran the news agency either explicitly or implicitly claims that the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei belongs to the conservative faction. Such measures are indeed attempts to create a rift among Iranian political factions -- reminiscent of the old British policy of "divide and rule".

Such ploys can be neutralized only through the awareness and vigilance of Iranian political leaders and the public.