The continuous atrocities are being normalized in the US media and politics as the Gaza war enters its 12th quarter with no apparent resolution. Since the war started in October, the procedure has become so regular that we might not be aware of how absence and displacement have consistently shaped views of events.
How much of the US media focused on the Gaza battle was a whole different topic, though. Simple presumptions were made that the reports made it possible for viewers to see what was actually happening.
However, the words and images that were delivered to viewers, readers, and audiences were a far cry from real-world experiences. The idea or belief that the reality of the war was being distorted by the media ultimately led to further obscuring those challenges. And journalism’s natural restrictions were compounded by press biases.
The New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times ‘ protection of the war’s second six days” showed a constant discrimination against Palestinians,” according to an in-depth information study conducted by the Intercept.
The highly regarded media outlets “disproportionately emphasized Jewish deaths in the issue” and “used emotive language to narrate Jewish murders, but no Palestinian ones.”
For instance,” Laws and reporters used the term” slaughter” to describe the killing of Israelis and Palestinians 60 to 1, and “massacre” was used to describe the killing of Israelis and Palestinians 125 to 2. The term “horrific” was used to identify the killing of Israelis and Palestinians 36 to 4″.
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post covered the use of the term “brutal” or its varieties much more frequently than the word “israeli” in the first five weeks of the conflict.
According to the findings, a study by Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting ( FAIR ) found an imbalance that occurred “even though Israeli violence was responsible for more than 20 times as much loss of life.”
The uneven rate at which “brutal” was used in op-eds to describe Palestinians over Israelis was precisely the same as the ostensibly direct news stories, according to the same article and opinion piece.
Despite excellent coverage at times, what was most deeply significant about the war in Gaza—what it was like to be terrorized, murdered, wounded and traumatized—remained almost completely out of view.
Eventually, area accounts reaching the American government came to seem monotonous and regular. The Gaza war became less of a news item as death rates increased as the number of deaths increased, but most interview programs did n’t much about it.
Gaps between the media’s reporting and the human’s perceptions of the condition both grew. In the Gaza Strip, according to a report released in mid-January 2024,” Gazans now make up 80 % of all individuals facing hunger or catastrophic hunger globe, marking an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the region amid Israel’s continued assault and siege.”
According to experts who quoted in the UN statement,” Everyone in Gaza is already starving and battling to get food and potable water, and famine is inevitable.
In late February, US President Joe Biden dramatized the conflict between the Gaza war zone and the US political area while holding a vanilla ice cream cones in his right hand while speaking to reporters about the possibility of a “ceasefire” ( which did not occur ).
” My national security adviser tells me that we’re close, we’re close, we’re not done yet”, Biden said, before sauntering off.
The UN complained that “very much humanitarian assistance has entered besieged Gaza this quarter, with a 50 % decrease compared, has entered besieged Gaza, with a 50 % decrease compared.” on the same day as Biden’s photo op at an ice cream parlor near Rockefeller Center.
Israel was halting border crossing help tankers that were prepared to enter Gaza. More than 10 police officers who guarded the assistance vehicles had been purposefully killed by the Israeli government. Fatal consequences were evident.
According to UN leaders, Jewish attacks have targeted police officials who guard the convoys, exposing them to looting by criminal gangs and determined civilians, and the amount of assistance to Gaza has decreased in recent weeks.
According to data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, only 62 trucks have entered Gaza each day on average over the past two weeks, which is significantly below the 200 trucks that Israel has pledged to facilitate. This week, just four trucks crossed on two separate days. Aid groups, which have warned of a looming famine, estimate that some 500 trucks are needed each day to meet people’s basic needs”.
While these figures were frequently mentioned in news reports, numerous real-life tragedies were hidden from the public and dragged people into private agony and loss. Some commendable human-interest reporting and investigative reporting about individual tragedies in Gaza were included in major media coverage.
But even at its best, such journalism did n’t do much to convey the size, scope, and depth of the widening disaster. And the narratives of catastrophe were short on zeal for exploring causality—especially when the trail would lead to the US “national security” establishment.
Rarely did the heartrending portrayals of Palestinian victims get covered in American media coverage of their victims in Washington. Top government officials continued to distribute enormous welcome mats for the Grim Reaper while quickly expressing facile regret for the tragic loss of life.
Norman Solomon is a co-founder of RootsAction. The
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