Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon kills 3 journalists covering the war

[Igel]

9. Two things can both be true.

He could be doing normal reportorial work, whether or not Al Manar is a division of a paramilitary that's funded by Iran and has managed to subvert a prosperous state and make it into an economic basket case riven by religious/ideological partisanship. (With a fusion of church/state, the two fuse.)

And yet he could also be working as intelligence for the political/military branches.

Difference: Publicity, to some extent. But that "reporters" badge gets you places and gets you sources that would be great.

(Then again, some 'intel' is in the mind of the beholder: if a Axios reporter got wind of some info about an upcoming attack by the US on Kharg or Bandar Abbas, I rather think they'd let slip the information in hopes of stopping the assault by the bad guys. After all, they're protected and "anonymous sources" are sacred. There's a reason D-Day info wasn't shared with reporters. And given the distrust between Trump and Congressional members, why the Iran strike info was only given to a few members of Congress before the strike happened, even if the WPA was followed and notice given within the time period stipulated by law.)