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Media Portrayal Of Tet Offensive

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How did the medias portrayal of Tet Offensive change Americans outlook on the Vietnam War?

Imagine, sitting in your living room and instead of watching Modern Family or the Bears game, watching American troops fighting a live war overseas. Seeing countless people being killed, bloody battles being tirelessly fought and innocent civilians fleeing in terror. How would that affect your view on America's involvement in the war? Beginning in 1965 networks stationed in Vietnam reported live from the battlegrounds of the Vietnam War. One major turning point in the war, the Tet Offensive, was viewed by Americans all over the country on television. The medias portrayal of the Tet Offensive ultimately changed Americans view on the Vietnam war and led …show more content…

On January 31st 1968, the Tet Offensive, named after the Vietnamese lunar new year, occurred. It was a series of 126 fierce attacks on South Vietnamese towns. 70,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces who supported a communist state performed the attacks. They were led by General Vo Nguyen Giap, the leader of Communist Peoples Army of Vietnam. The attacks were led against the Southern Vietnamese and American forces led by General William Westmoreland. The Tet Offensive was an effort to provoke rebellion amongst the South Vietnamese people and encourage the United States to scale back its support, ultimately leading to the Saigon to accept a communist government. The Southern Vietnamese and American troops were able to successfully defend themselves against the North Vietnamese attacks, however the medias portrayal of the gruesome events led to a downward spiral of the Americans public support. For the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, the Tet Offensive was a public relations victory, causing the American people to take a very different outlook on the

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