DVD Review: All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, And The Spirit Of I.F. Stone

I’ve always believed that governments somewhat routinely play with or ignore the truth. But I’m not sure any leader has lied with such unfailing consistency as does the current occupier of the White House. Not a single word he utters is to be trusted. But perhaps something good can come of it. Perhaps it will get people questioning and thinking critically about everything that’s told to them by government officials, rather than blindly accepting such stuff as truth. The documentary All Governments Lie: Truth Deception, And The Spirit Of I.F. Stone celebrates some of the independent journalists who, in the spirit of I.F. Stone, work to uncover the truth on subjects not being discussed in the mainstream media.

The film opens with that famous footage of Trump’s role model Richard Nixon swearing that he never obstructed justice and that he’s not a crook. It cuts then to Colin Powell talking about Iraq’s supposed weapons of mass destruction, and swearing he’s delivering facts. And it’s not long before we get footage of Donald Trump speaking of his proposed Muslim ban, and telling his supporters that Mexicans are rapists. These are clear examples of the government lying to its people, but of course if the government is willing and eager to tell these large lies, why should we trust them not to tell us smaller ones as well?

I.F. Stone was an independent investigate journalist who published his own newsletter, I.F. Stone’s Weekly, in which he routinely exposed the lies of the government. The film does include snippets of interviews with him, including footage of his appearance as a guest on The Dick Cavett Show in 1969. But in large part it follows current journalists who in a way are continuing Stone’s work, folks like Matt Taibbi, John Carlos Frey, Amy Goodman, Jeremy Scahill and David Corn. And through this, the film also delves into certain stories. For example, the mass graves found along the U.S./Mexico border. Sound familiar? No? Well, that’s because big media companies didn’t cover the story, as many of the choices they make are related to the entertainment value of a story, and the deaths of immigrants aren’t seen as entertaining. The film raises the question of whether those running large media empires are any more ethical than those in charge of oil companies or tobacco companies. After all, they profited from Trump’s campaign, getting plenty of entertaining news out of it. I wish we could go back in time and see what would have transpired had the media simply not covered Trump’s campaign, or at least not given him so much coverage.

And if you’re wondering, no, Barrack Obama is not left alone in this film. His questionable activities with drones are addressed here. Hillary Clinton likewise does not escape attention. And that’s the point, really. All governments lie. But the work of the journalists shown in this excellent documentary does give me hope. The film also includes interviews with Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Carl Bernstein (who says that conventional wisdom is “the real enemy of great reporting”), Dick Cavett, and Michael Moore (who talks about the use of humor, and how “it is very hard to respond to it”).

Special Features

The DVD contains several bonus scenes, including more on Jeremy Scahill addressing young journalists about The Intercept and about the risks of investigative reporting, and Kai Wright talking about The Nation and objectivity. There is also footage of Sharif Abdel Kouddos speaking of how he became active in political journalism. John Carlos Frey talks about getting himself hired as a grape-picker in order to get the footage he needed. There is also more with Glenn Greenwald, Ralph Nader, Carl Bernstein and Chris Hedges.

All Governments Lie: Truth Deception, And The Spirit Of I.F. Stone was directed by Fred Peabody, and is based in part on All Governments Lie: The Life And Times Of Rebel Journalist I.F. Stone by Myra MacPherson. It was released on DVD on May 23, 2017 through First Run Features.