SAEDNEWS: Many people in the current situation want to stay informed about the details of important decisions and major events. But is making all of these details public truly in the country’s best interest, or could releasing certain information unintentionally harm national interests?
According to Saed News social service, citing Fars News Agency, in these hours and moments, news and narratives are being exchanged across media platforms at an unprecedented speed. Many people want to be informed about the details of important decisions and events under current conditions. However, is publicly disclosing all such details beneficial for the country? Or could the release of certain information unintentionally harm national interests? Dr. Masoumeh Nasiri, a media literacy instructor and Secretary-General of the UNESCO Iran Media Management and Media Literacy Development Club, discusses the skill of dealing with confidentiality in political and military media matters.
Nasiri begins by referring to standard protocols and established practices for information dissemination in political, security, military, and other governance-related domains. She explains that, in most countries, such reporting is carried out based on governing policies and doctrines, and according to what is considered important or strategically valuable at different levels.
“It is not the case that all countries provide completely transparent reporting on such matters or have full transparency about them,” she says.
She adds that sometimes silence is necessary, sometimes transparency is required, and sometimes different cognitive media scenarios are designed to gather feedback from adversaries—especially when outcomes are being pursued or when opponents are being assessed through information exposure.
Therefore, she emphasizes that public opinion must take into account the complexity and multidimensional nature of such issues and understand international standards in this regard.
According to Nasiri, society is facing an extremely deceptive, cunning, untrustworthy, and terrorist enemy—one that has not hesitated and does not hesitate to target commanders and leaders.
She explains that if such an adversary gains precise knowledge of a negotiation team’s composition, it could be used against the team, the negotiation agenda, and national interests, through misinformation, narrative manipulation, distortion of facts, and psychological operations in the media space.
She advises that when facing such an enemy—one that actively seeks to influence public opinion through both field operations and media—it is harmful to demand full disclosure of all details or to pressure officials into revealing sensitive information, as this may inadvertently benefit the adversary.
Nasiri further argues that, following the guidance of national leaders and historical religious figures, the public should trust the teams managing political, military, security, and economic affairs.
She states that media functions as one of the key pillars in managing field operations, diplomacy, and military affairs, and that not everything occurring in these domains needs to be reflected in the media. Rational thinking, she argues, requires awareness of limitations in information disclosure in order not to strengthen the adversary’s position.
She also addresses the perception that when some information is first published in Western media and only later in domestic outlets, it means the public or local media were deliberately excluded.
Nasiri explains that, in some cases, information is intentionally shared through external sources—similar practices exist in Western, Hebrew, and Arab media—to gather feedback and manage information from different angles, ultimately aiming for better outcomes for the public interest.
She argues that this should not be interpreted as being “one step behind the enemy” or experiencing media ambiguity. In crisis, war, or conflict situations, she says, it may be necessary to use international media spaces so that information is presented from different channels and perspectives.
Nasiri emphasizes that opposing media and active accounts in recent days have openly admitted their goal of creating divisions among the population and undermining national unity.
She cites narratives such as claims that “the blood of the martyred leader is being wasted,” or that “the public is being treated as uninformed,” as well as criticism targeting negotiation teams and their intentions.
She concludes by stressing that such media outlets are not acting in good faith and should not be trusted, as they pursue manipulation and deception.
In her final remarks, she states that true loyalty and continuation of the path of past leaders and the current leadership is reflected in trusting responsible authorities, recognizing that not all developments must be publicly disclosed, and prioritizing national security, territorial integrity, and trust-building as essential foundations for achieving collective success.
