Tag: Israel

The bulk of the western media is hiding behind power to take pot shots at the weak and the suffering., writes Ranjona Banerji

Misinformation, Disinformation, Propaganda!!!

By Ranjona Banerji

Social media opens your eyes to the massive amounts of misinformation and disinformation which swirls around human communication. And in a conflict situation, the spread of false news only makes matters worse. It is easy to blame “Whatsapp uncles” for forwarding (“as received” being the ingenuous disclaimer) messages of dubious origin. But what is happening now is far worse.

Once-trusted news sources have outed themselves as propaganda mouthpieces. Last week, we saw how some BBC journalists complained to their own management that fair reporting and coverage of Israel’s assaults on Palestine are not being allowed.

(https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/23/as-israel-pounds-gaza-bbc-journalists-accuse- broadcaster-of-bias )

This week, as hostages held by Israel and Hamas were released, more disinformation – always anti-Palestine when it comes to the western media – played out in front of the world’s eyes. A Palestinian hostage released by Israel was interviewed, with subtitles. This included her thanking Hamas. But according to Arab speakers, she never mentioned Hamas even once. The BBC later issued a bland clarification that her words were mistranslated (see screenshot alongside).

One can understand this sort of “information” from popular and populist TV person Piers Morgan, who persists with his “But do you condemn Hamas” question even after thousands of Palestinians have been killed by Israel, even after it has been revealed that some of the Israelis purportedly killed by Hamas on the October 7 attack were actually killed by Israeli forces, even after the so-called Hamas headquarters in tunnels under Palestinian hospitals have not been found, even after a former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak told CNN that Israel built the tunnels, even after it is known that Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, had colluded with Hamas… but do you condemn Hamas?

What is even more remarkable about these western news agencies is that, like the Indian rightwing propagandist media, they show little or no solidarity with journalists killed by Israeli fire in Gaza. This may even include journalists who work for their own organisations. But do you condemn Hamas?

These are some figures from Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres):

https://cpj.org/2023/11/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/

https://rsf.org/en/israel-eradicating-journalism-gaza-ten-reporters-killed -three-days-48-start-war

These figures have gone up constantly, with a break only during the “ceasefire” which has not stopped Israel from attacking the West Bank.

But do you condemn Hamas?

Various wings of the United Nations have mourned deaths of their own staff because of Israel’s attacks on Hamas. Various medical organisations have mourned the deaths of doctors, nurses and health workers in Israel’s attacks on Gaza. But us journalists? Something stops us. What I wonder?

Francesca Albanese, UN Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories, faces endless misinformation and misdirection from the Western media. They seemingly deliberately try to trap her, put words into her mouth, try and extract words from her mouth only to fit their pro-Israel stance. Albanese is a lawyer and no pushover. Stories were recently invented that Palestinians funded a trip she made to Australia, when the evidence and UN confirmation show that it was an official UN visit. Anything to discredit her (see screenshots above).

The end of this conflict does not look easy. And with the media playing these sorts of dirty tricks, victims and casualties are likely to be lost in propaganda. Forget speaking truth to power. The bulk of the western media is hiding behind power to take pot shots at the weak and the suffering.

In case you thought it was time to go easy on what’s happening in India, let’s not forget Manipur and the 41 workers still trapped in that tunnel in Uttarakhand.

And, here’s a first-person account by veteran journalist Paranjoy Guha-Thakurta on how freedom of the press and democracy in India received one more major blow on October 3, 2023:

https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_3rd_of_october_2023_the_day_that_changed_the_lives_ of_more_than_80_citizens_of_india_including_mine

At the end, I ask as one must: But do you condemn Hamas?

Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

November 28, 2023
The Economist is one of many Western well-respected journals and television news channels which have taken sides, and notably the side of the oppressor, writes Ranjona Banerji

Bias, Bias & More Bias

By Ranjona Banerji

There is a conversation on how the Western media has exposed its biases terribly clearly with Israel’s attacks on Gaza and on Palestinians.

Like this headline and the rest of the article from the most venerable journal, The Economist:

“Israel faces agonizing choices”.

Really?

So far, there has been so sign that the Israeli government is remotely agonized by the obliteration of neighbourhoods in Gaza and the increasing death toll.

The only agony was a reaction to the terrible October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Since then, it is Palestinians who have been in agony and it is agonizing for all those in the world who believe that Israel’s response to the Hamas attack has been brutal and gone on for too long.

In this, you can include most members of the United Nations, several Jewish organisations calling for peace, many Jewish intellectuals and all humanitarian agencies.

What you cannot include are the most powerful Western democracies and the bulk of the Western media.

They remain in that extremely clever mode where human death and suffering are couched in strictly military, tactical terms. This dehumanization makes words and opinions sound more palatable.

And sentences like this: “For as long as Hamas is in power, Israelis will not feel secure.”

Flip the words and another truth emerges: As long as Israel continues with its assault on Gaza, Palestinians will not feel secure.

But you cannot say that. The lives of Israelis are more important.

This Economist analysis also tells you that this a “harsh truth”, that the people of Gaza has to live – or right now, die – with: that it’s practically their fault that Hamas attacked Israel.

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/10/29/israel-faces-agonising-choices-in-the-battle-for-gaza?utm_campaign=a.the-economist-sunday-today&utm_medium=email.internal-newsletter.np&utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_term=10/29/2023&utm_id=1804180

Interestingly, the Israeli newspaper The Haaretz has been more consistent in calling out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his various failures, especially with regard to this “war”. Or rather, demanding his resignation for a huge list of his failures, including his cosying up to Hamas and ignoring warnings of a Hamas attack.

However, it is only from a few individual columnists that the plight of the Palestinians is highlighted.

The Economist is one of many Western well-respected journals and television news channels which have taken sides, and notably the side of the oppressor. Their language has been different for Israeli casualties and Palestinian casualties. Israelis have been “killed” by Hamas, but Palestinians have just sort of mysteriously died in massive numbers. An attack on a rave party in Israel caused tremendous pain in the West. But attacks on hospitals in Gaza caused scarcely a tear.

This is how the media can consistently toe a political line to dehumanize sections of people. We have seen it in India in recent times. And of course, in those agonizing circles of irony, it was the Nazi propaganda machine which perfected this vile device to dehumanize Jews in the 1930s.

In the midst of these despicable double standards from the cream of the Western media, the satirical website The Onion manages to hit the spot on the double standards and lies of the West:

Americans Try To Define ‘War Crime’

As for our Indian TV stars, are they still romping about Israeli suburbs in their camouflage vests? I heard a rumour that they’re now romping about their own studios in their camouflage vests?

*

Back in India, the morning of October 31 began with the news that a few opposition politicians – especially those most vocal in their criticism of the BJP and its governments – received a message from Apple that their Iphones may have been infiltrated by state-sponsored snooping. “State-sponsored attackers may be targeting your iphone” read the messages.

Mahua Moitra (TMC), Priyanka Chaturvedi (SS-Uddhav), Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Akhilesh Yadav (SP), Raghav Chaddha (AAP), Pawan Khera (INC), Siddharth Vardajaran of The Wire are some of the people who have received this message. The list appears to be growing as I write this.

https://thewire.in/rights/apple-india-state-sponsored-spyware

The dangers are self-evident. As is the strategy of a regime which tolerates no criticism and no dissent. And is blessed by a largely captive media which capitulates even while performing in a camouflage vest.

Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

October 31, 2023
Reports that most disinformation on the Israel-Palestine originates in India is disturbing, notes Ranjona Banerji

Prejudice, hatred & Disinformation

By Ranjona Banerji

The amount of misinformation, disinformation, carefully crafted lies and dangerous propaganda which is regularly spread on social media has been amplified by the Israel-Palestine situation. And more disturbing are the reports that the most disinformation has originated out of India.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/16/analysis-why-is-so-much-anti-palestinian-disinformation-coming-from-india

And as this report from Boom Live shows, “verified” Indian accounts on X, formerly Twitter, are often responsible.

https://www.boomlive.in/news/israel-palestine-gaza-hamas-middle-east-war-conflict-fake-news-disinfo-meghupdates-ajaychauhan41-mrsinha-jix5a-twitter-x-23311

Not surprisingly, most of this disinformation is pro-Israel, anti-Palestine and intrinsically anti-Muslim. Several right-wing handles have begged Israel to allow them to join in the fight. This includes some Hindutva figures as well. These are the usual handles, some are likely to be BJP IT cell’s Rs 2 trolls, which attack Muslims in India, attack Pakistan every now and then and currently, during the ongoing cricket World Cup.

The level of Islamophobia is clear when you look at how fact-checkers are targeted. Boom Live has fact-checked many videos out of the conflict. But it is Mohammed Zubair of Alt News who gets the most hatred on social media, for his fact-checking on X. To the extent that several Israel government handles have blocked him. Top of the list of those who target him is filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, known for his Modi-BJP-RW propaganda films. He is not yet of the calibre of Hitler’s infamous propagandist Leni Riefenstahl, but mainly because he cannot even match her calibre or innate talent.

The Israel-Hamas “conflict”, or the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas and Israel’s massive response, or the relentless bombardment of Gaza by Israel after the Hamas attack, however you want to describe what is happening, has certainly shaken the world out of its complacency and into its usual set of predictable reactions.

Most governments of the Western world have positioned themselves as pro-Israel and have conflated all Palestinians with Hamas. Some of the western media has followed suit.

The venerable BBC issued a weak wibbly-wobbly apology about the lies in news reports which stated that the pro-Palestine rallies held across the UK were pro-Hamas.

https://thehill.com/homenews/4258749-bbc-apologizes-palestine-hamas/

The following was tweeted by a BBC presenter: “Earlier we reported on some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the weekend. We spoke about “several demonstrations across Britain during which people voiced their backing for Hamas”.

“We accept this was poorly phrased and was a misleading description of the demonstrations.”

(see screenshot)

This is not an apology. It is a vague acceptance of what can only be called deliberate misrepresentation.

On the other hand, this also happened:

https://www.ft.com/content/c998bfa4-ad8e-4c61-9117-61a57aa9a92a

This excellent analysis by Newslaundry goes deep into how the media takes sides:

https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/10/14/between-the-new-middle-east-and-medias-myopia-a-shrinking-palestinian-voice

The bias is not unknown, but it always surfaces:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/11/israel-palestine-war-biden-zelenskiy

The extreme reaction of shock and horror to the story of 40 Israeli babies being beheaded by Hamas was instant. Subsequently, the news that this horrific story was just that – a piece of fiction – was debated and contested even though there was no evidence, no confirmation and several later denials.

There was no such reaction to confirmed reports of Palestinian babies killed by Israeli fire. The human capacity for disgust and disapproval was used up by one bit of what appears to be fake news spread by a TV journalist who heard it from an Israeli soldier but did not confirm its veracity.

What we see then is that between social media and mainstream media, the viewer, consumer and customer are being fed on prejudice and hatred. By agents of hatred and by those who should know better.

Meanwhile, this is still happening:

https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/oct/17/with-humanitarian-aid-blocked-at-egyptian-border-gaza-draws-closer-to-total-collapse-2624732.html

Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.

October 17, 2023