NBC News made an interesting editorial decision to carry the burial of Iranian terrorist Gen. Qassem Soleimani live on its network and to promote the coverage on social media.
Soleimani, who was killed Friday during a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump, was the leader of Iran's Quds Force from 1988 until his death. The Quds Force is designated as a terrorist organization and has been since 2007.
Still, NBC opted to cover the death of a man responsible for many injuries and deaths of U.S. forces as if he was any other non-terrorist foreign leader.
Reporter Cal Perry, who was covering the event in Iran, said the magnitude of the event gave "a little insight into the kind of hero that this man was in Iran."
Perry went on to discuss how Soleimani and the Quds Force has bolstered Iran's ability to fight its enemies abroad, citing Hezbollah fighting Israel in Lebanon and Soleimani's direct engagement and killing of U.S. soldiers when the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003.
It's obvious that the network was attempting to highlight the importance of Soleimani to the Iranian people, but the choice to explain to an American audience how much of a "hero" Soleimani was for his efforts to kill American soldiers was not well-received by many viewers.
The replies to NBC News' promotional tweet were overwhelmingly negative, with the general sentiment being: Why are you covering this?
Watch live coverage as Gen. Qassem Soleimani is buried in his hometown of Kerman, Iran. https://t.co/CUsh8osifL— NBC News (@NBC News) 1578450906.0
The response to Soleimani's death from media and opponents of President Donald Trump has seemed, at times, almost sympathetic toward the slain general.
For example, a tweet about Soleimani's death by the Washington Post referred to Soleimani as "revered military leader."
Breaking news: Airstrike at Baghdad airport kills Iran’s most revered military leader, Qasem Soleimani, Iraqi state… https://t.co/mBqlRNN7xn— The Washington Post (@The Washington Post) 1578014666.0
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