1. Western Media’s “Moderate”

How did the news interpret the death of a man who spent his career calling the United States the “Great Satan” and threatening violence against US and Iranian citizens alike?

The Washington Post obituary of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opened with an oddly gentle portrait, “With his bushy white beard and easy smile, Ayatollah Khamenei cut a more avuncular figure in public… known to be fond of Persian poetry and classic Western novels, especially Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables.”

The New York Times obituary of Ali Khamenei followed a similar pattern. The paper described him as a “hard-line cleric who made Iran a regional power,” emphasizing his public persona and intellectual interests.

The tone did not match the regime he led: a theocratic state responsible for decades of repression, proxy warfare, and chants of “Death to America.” Readers were reminded of his literary tastes, his public image, and his decades of leadership before they were confronted with the reality of the ideological system he spent his life defending.

When the ideological baseline shifts this far, the obituary of a revolutionary theocrat begins to sound less like history and more like public relations.

2. How Mainstream Media Got Here

This is not a new phenomenon, and the problem is not merely tone. It’s a delusion. 

In August 1939, just days before Germany invaded Poland, the New York Times published a feature describing Adolf Hitler at his Bavarian mountain retreat in tranquil, almost pastoral terms, focusing on the scenery and his daily routines rather than the regime he led.

Washington Post previously had opinion writer Karen Attiah react to the October 7, 2023 massacre by posting on social media, “What did y’all think decolonization meant? Vibes? Papers? Essays?” [She was not removed from her position until years later, for praising the killing of political commentator Charlie Kirk.]

These are only two newspapers among many, but they illustrate a larger problem with modern media framing to appease regressive ideological movements. They represent a growing ecosystem of commentators chasing the attention received by figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, AOC, Mamdani, whose careers have been built on narratives of Western decline. They don’t represent objective truth.

3. Primary Sources vs Biases

Ali Khamenei may appear moderate only when compared to his teacher and ideological mentor, Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.........

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