Cover-Up

At a moment when truth is increasingly relative, Cover-Up acknowledges the grim continuation of the state apparatus that Hersh first exposed in the aftermath of My Lai. Without journalists of his calibre, we’d be none the wiser.

By the end, the movie’s harshest argument isn’t only that the government lies—it’s that ecosystems are built to manage the damage of those lies, from intelligence agencies to newsrooms to corporate interests that fear the truth like it’s an extinction event.

Cover-Up pays fitting tribute to a man who has made it his life’s work to seek out and expose the hardest of truths.

At a time like this, Cover-Up is a vital reminder that demanding a better world is possible, straight from the people who have done the critical work required to confront America’s darkest forces.

It’s a sobering riposte to the clickbait era.

As Cover-Up reveals, the key lesson of Seymour Hersh’s career is that when it comes to crucial stories of corruption, just about every situation is layered, booby-trapped, woven with deception.

Cover-Up is an overall captivating, invigorating watch. Without editorializing too obviously, Poitras and Obenhaus have created an incredibly impactful and, at times, infuriating look at America’s history of violent imperfection, showing that when it comes to holding our nation accountable, journalists like Seymour Hersh are an absolute necessity.

"Cover-Up" is Truth is a word that used to mean something, and hopefully will again someday soon. Right now, we live in a political world that sees truth as a matter of opinion, instead of something unassailable. It is an attack not only on our person, but the idea of our country, as well. In the United States, we have many important freedoms, but almost none are more important than the freedom of the press. When this is operating as it should, it gives us an opportunity to shine a light in a dark place, to give a voice to the people most impacted by what happens in those shadows. There are many great documentaries, and in many different styles. One of the drawbacks of the genre is that it tends to attract those who wish to tell their stories. There is a presentational nature to it that lends itself to, at a minimum, stretching the truth. "Cover-Up," however, does not have this particular problem. Its focus is Seymour Hersh, and he, like all truth tellers, never makes things comfortable. He creates an interesting balance between **** and charming, which immediately comes through on a one-sided phone conversation with a contact in Gaza. It is a minor stroke of brilliance from directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus. This film will not reinvent the wheel stylistically, focusing mainly on a series of interviews with Hersh, intercut with photographs detailing his life and the stories that made him a name. But much like its subject, placing the truth at the forefront is more important than the bells and whistles. After the brief phone call, the film takes itself back in time to the horrific massacre at My Lai during the Vietnam War. My Lai, until recently, was probably the most famous war crime in American history, in which many unarmed Vietnamese civilians were assaulted, ****, and murdered by American soldiers. The film and Hersh posit an important fact about crimes such as these. There are two options: either this is an isolated, horrible act or this is normal, but consistently hidden by those in power. We want it to be the first, but deep down, we know that the latter is much more likely. And if that is the case, our nation is not what it can be, at least not yet. Hersh and others have taken on the responsibility of delivering these difficult truths to whoever will listen. It is a lonely mission, but one of the utmost importance. People like him place themselves in harm’s way, each and every day. But they are not completely alone, as they have their sources. Anyone who has seen any film or television show about journalism will know how important it is to keep sources private, and this is the great challenge of "Cover-Up." How does a director guide a conversation with so many dead ends? The careful, offscreen questioning from Poitras is truly enthralling to watch in its mastery. Despite her skill, there is a moment about midway through the film in which Hersh has severe doubts about continuing. It is made clear that Poitras has begged and pleaded to interview him for many years, and here we finally are, and he begins to recoil from the questions. Importantly, in this moment, the director chooses to show some of her subject’s notes, with black boxes hiding the names of sources. The film recovers from this moment and moves forward, but it is so important that this is shown on screen. With Hersh’s charm, mixed with scathing judgment, it would be easy to see him as a preaching figure. But these moments, paired with a too-brief discussion of his marriage, paint him in a human hue, a man who continues to do the right thing, not for accolades, but because it is just that, the right thing. Cover-Up does not stop with My Lai, but also details other horrific cover-ups, such as the human rights violations by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. His words, paired with the photographs of this torture, force us to remember this terrible moment that should never be forgotten. This film not only tells the story of Hersh’s successes, but also shows failures and true human reactions. In one particularly powerful moment, we learn that, as a new father, he was almost unable to continue with the My Lai massacre because of the details of very young children being brutally murdered. It would be simple to merely label Hersh as a hero for his good works. But this moment puts us in his shoes. Would we be able to continue while thinking of our own loved ones? Maybe we can all learn from him. We must find a balance. We must protect ourselves while also doing all we can to shine that light in the horrific dark. "Cover-Up" is both a reminder and a warning. Even if we would like to think that we have grown past the atrocities of the past, it is clear that this is a pattern of behavior by our nation. What is happening across the world is a humanitarian crisis. Even if our country is not directly perpetrating it, our hands are all bloody.

Just another reminder of how US imperialism has **** up the world for over a century now. And that’s why true journalism must be protected.

A potência do primeiro terço é seminal para nos fisgar, mas com o avançar dos anos, parece que tudo vai perdendo força, ou mesmo as dificuldades com a própria veracidade e os desafios de um mundo cada vez mais conectado fazem com que o Seymour Hersh tenha muita dificuldade de manter sua posição e seu olhar. Ótimo, portanto, para percebermos o desafio de manter-se numa profissão que precisa de reciclagem urgentemente.

In an age where it seems that troubling developments are ubiquitously lurking beneath the surface of public awareness, the need for intrepid investigative journalists to bring these stories to light is probably greater than ever. Unfortunately, such reporters have increasingly become a vanishing breed, especially in the mainstream media. Luckily, though, there are still some committed, courageous correspondents out there – mostly free-lancers – who are diligently working to bring these revelations to light. And one of the most prolific among them is veteran investigator Seymour “Sy” Hersh, who has made a career out of uncovering some of the biggest news stories for over 60 years. That prolific legacy is now the subject of a new documentary from directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, showcasing the 88-year-old’s many accomplishments, beginning with his exposé on the 1968 My Lai massacre (one of the Vietnam War’s watershed moments) and continuing up to his present-day reporting on incidents in global hot spots like Ukraine and Gaza. Viewers also learn of his diverse interim initiatives in covering the questionable practices of public figures like Henry Kissinger and clandestine organizations like the CIA, the atrocities of institutions like Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison, and the dubious ventures undertaken by major corporations, all through articles in various periodicals and an array of books. Over the years, Hersh has also bolstered the efforts of fellow journalists by helping to keep their stories alive when public interest in them was tepid, as evidenced, for example, by his supplemental coverage of the Watergate scandal, material that dovetailed the groundbreaking but underappreciated work of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and helped to elevate awareness of that incident. In addition, the film profiles Hersh’s life outside the journalistic trenches, showing how his unplanned entry into the field was itself almost a sort of happy accident, one for which truth seekers and concerned citizens should be thankful. On balance, the filmmakers present an even-handed and comprehensive biography of their subject, driven by candid interviews with Hersh, accompanied by commentary from those who know and have worked with him, as well as a wealth of supporting archive footage. Admittedly, there are times when the narrative could benefit from some better organization of its content, given its tendency to occasionally skip around needlessly, an issue that has shown up in some of Poitras’s previous offerings. However, to its credit, this recipient of the National Board of Review’s award for best documentary of 2025 nevertheless provides audiences with an informative and enlightening look at a man who has made us aware **** many things that we might not have otherwise heard of. Indeed, we’re collectively better off for having had Hersh’s presence in our lives. After all, just think about everything we might have missed out on if he hadn’t been there to write about it.