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Western media in general exhibits clear bias in its coverage of Gaza while many media outlets have come to realise that they have been misled by Israeli propaganda writes EMERITUS PROFESSOR SULEMAN DANGOR.
EXPERTS, activists and even journalists have been arguing that Western media in general exhibits clear bias in its coverage of the Muslim world and, in this case, of the genocide in Gaza. The UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has questioned whether ‘journalists have codes of conduct and professional ethics to abide by and be held accountable to’. This is not to suggest that all journalists and media outlets are essentially biased, indeed some have come to realise that they have been misled by Israeli propaganda.
The reality is that journalists can be influenced in their reporting by their personal morality, ambition and world views as well as those of the editors and media owners. They are also subject to financial, political and social pressures. Since they are affiliated with regions, countries, societies and cultures, they often tend to reflect the values and outlooks of these ‘audiences.’ With respect to Gaza, the Israeli narrative is usually favoured over the Palestinian narrative in the majority of cases. While Israel’s ‘rights’ are always emphasised, those of the Palestinians are hardly mentioned. Emotive language is used for Israeli victims of violence, but not as much for the Palestinians.
Representatives and supporters of Israel are allowed free reign to dehumanise and even insult Palestinians on air, with no objections from news presenters and talk show hosts. Editors, analysts and columnists represent Islam as being anti-Semitic and as the driving force behind the opposition to Israel. Palestinian activists and supporters have been repeatedly misrepresented since the beginning of the conflict as supporting terrorism, of being anti-Semites and Hamas supporters. This is to deflect from reality, namely that condemnation of Israel’s conduct is based on human rights and not on hatred for Jews.
Media bias is also clearly reflected in the language used when reporting on events in Gaza. The Guardian published an editorial calling Hamas’ attack a ‘murderous rampage’, while The Economist called it a ‘bloodthirsty assault on Israel’ but Western media shies away from such descriptors for Israel. The words ‘slaughter’ and ‘massacre’ are used to describe the killing of Israelis but not of Palestinians. When writing about Israeli victims, the heading will read ‘Rockets kill Israelis,’ but when writing about Palestinian victims, it will read ‘Palestinians have died.’The former are given names and faces and their personal stories and pain will be described in detail while the latter are mostly reported in charts and numbers rather than stories of human beings.
In line with Israeli propaganda, the conflict is presented as having started on October 7,2023 and ignores the fact that it occurred in the context of decades-long oppression, discrimination and expulsion over 75 years of occupation of Palestinian territory and the nakba (catastrophe) of 1948 when 15 000 Palestinians were massacred, 530 of their villages and cities were destroyed and 750 000 driven into exile are conveniently omitted. Whenever biased news anchors in favour of Israel interview Palestinian spokespersons, the first question they ask is ‘do you condemn Hamas?’ but Israeli spokespersons are never asked ‘do you condemn Israel?’
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Disinformation is an another weapon that Western media has used to dehumanize Palestinians by publishing or announcing claims relating to Gaza without verification such as the beheading of babies, rape of hundreds of women, existence of tunnels under hospitals, etc which have all proven to be false. Al-Jazeera has proven to be very effective in countering the blatant propaganda. While Western media outlets have been maintaining their silence about the horrendous atrocities committed by Israel, Gazans have been using their social media accounts to share moment-by-moment photos, videos, firsthand accounts of the injured, and narratives of families grappling with profound losses to convey the atrocities to the world.
The consequences of the predominantly one-sided coverage of the genocide in Gaza are dire. Misrepresenting the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians as a conflict between Muslims and Jews appeals to Islamophobes since it justifies their demonisation of Muslims. Since October anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiments have increased manifold in Europe and the United States. Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims are currently facing a great deal of hostility, even violence in several instances in their schools, universities and places of work.
Fortunately, audiences’ demands are already forcing changes. Pressure from social media has seen a perceptible shift in the coverage of Gaza, with Western outlets (including BBC and CNN which are known to be biased against Muslims) being more willing to interview objective political commentators, independent analysts and Palestinian spokespeople instead of only apologists for Israel. In addition, they show images of death and destruction in Gaza. A group of journalists have condemned newsrooms for ‘dehumanizing rhetoric that has served to justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians,’ and ‘undermine Palestinian, Arab and Muslim perspectives.’
To conclude, Gaza offers a golden opportunity for more enlightened journalists and media outlets to become objective in its coverage of world events.
- Emeritus Professor Suleman Dangor is a columnist for Muslim Views.
