r/Palestine • u/isawasin • Nov 10 '24

Debunked Hasbara Not all heroes wear capes

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u/A5H442 Nov 10 '24

The lack of enforced standards in journalism is something I found very surprising over the past 400+ days. I always thought there was some kind of accountability when it came to lying on the news but now I see that that thinking was naive

38

u/BlasterTroy Nov 10 '24

Every mainstream news source serves the interests and agenda of their respective owner. People are only now realising how completely biased and untrustworthy our news sources are, but it's always been a weapon of misinformation and propaganda one way or another. This Amsterdam incident would have been completely swept under the rug if not for the live-reporting we now have on the ground at any given incident.

Live-streaming, first-hand accounts, internet activism like on Tiktok, and independent news sources like Owen Jones and Zeteo, have become indispensable lately to the truth. I don't suspect anyone on this side will ever go back to trusting mainstream news ever again.

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u/isawasin Nov 10 '24

This is why independent media is so important. A journalist is meant to be objective. It's not easy to do that if your paycheck is dependent on a level of professionalism that includes framing things in a way and using language that is approved.

Independent media is made up of journalists who will have - for the most part - gone through the same level of training as a reporter for CNN or Fox or the BBC. But aren't "cut out" for that line of journalism. Journalists who aren't prepared to self-censor to avoid being replaced by someone who will. Here is noam chomsky putting it better than I ever could.

l'm not saying independent journalists can't also have their biases. I'm saying salaried journalists have their biases built into their contracts. There is solid independent journalism out there. That they use language we aren't used to hearing is a feature, not a bug.