Unheard voices: foreign journalists’ coverage of Vietnamese prisoners during the American War in Vietnam

Abstract

This article examines how foreign journalists covered the Vietnam War by focusing on how they reported on the treatment of Vietnamese detainees. As transnational actors, reporters created sources that linked the local conflict in Southeast Asia to perceptions in the wider world. Unlike the coverage of the My Lai massacre, the many reports on the fate of Vietnamese prisoners had no serious impact on public attitudes or Congressional appropriations. By providing a classification of the various acts of violence covered, this article highlights the discrepancies between the prevailing official narratives and what reporters actually witnessed in the jungles of Vietnam.