The politics of journalism
by Ahmed E. Souaiaia*
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Photo used by BBC, the photo was later taken down. |
There was only one problem: the picture was not taken in
Houla. It was taken in Iraq in 2003, and depicts bodies pulled out of a mass grave
discovered in the desert in the outskirts of al-Musayyib, 40 km south of
Baghdad. The photographer was not a Syrian activist, but rather Marco
Di Lauro. This dereliction of journalistic duty is telling of both Western
media bias and the Western media’s disregard of the dignity of peoples from
non-Western countries.
Arguably, the BBC neglected to double check the authenticity
of the picture in part because the picture served a political end. The West is
determined to depose the Syrian regime, and this story can help achieve that
goal. Had the story been about civilians killed in a U.S. drone attack or a
massacre in Bahrain (western ally), the BBC editors would not be as careless posting
such a damning picture.
Journalists’ carelessness is not only damaging to the
credibility of the free press, but it also contributes to more suffering on the
part of victims of atrocities, be it by the hands of brutal regimes or
terrorist organizations. For example, the BBC was uncharacteristically slow
picking up on Aljazeera’s breaking news yesterday, when it reported that nearly
140 people were killed by the pro-Assad militias. Not wanting to make the same
mistake, most Western media outlets did not run the story. A day later, the
Syrian regime’s media reported that nine people were killed by terrorists on
the same farm where the massacre was reported to have happened. Either way, at
least nine civilians were killed: they deserved coverage. But the politicization
of the Syrian crisis is creating categories of victims: those who fall by the hands
of the regime are “victims” in the eyes of Western media and politicians but
those who fall by the hands of the opposition are ignored. They Syrian regime
uses the same standard: those killed by the terror networks are martyrs and
those killed by its forces go unreported.
When reporting by “independent” media outlets such as the
BBC becomes tainted with politics, a desperate need for unbiased coverage and
news analysis develops. Victimhood is not partisan, and human dignity cannot be
qualified. This will be the challenge of independent scholars, NGOs, and
responsible civil society institutions and this will determine the outcome of
the Arab Awakening.
_______________________
* Prof.
SOUAIAIA teaches at the University of Iowa. Opinions expressed herein are the
author’s, speaking as a citizen on matters of public interest; not speaking for
the university or any other organization with which he is affiliated.
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