Ever feel like you are being lied to?
All conflicts or disputes have at least two sides, which a free and independent media should cover fairly and equally. Therefore it is more than scary when mainstream media show interest in the view of only one side, as we are seeing in the coverage of last week’s attack on Idlib in Syria.
When you are reporting on an area where no Western journalist dares to go, you ought to be careful what you “redistribute” from the scene. If you only have reports, photos or videos from one side, you cannot verify that information by double- or triple-checking its veracity, especially in a place like Idlib, where extremists rule alongside moderates. Isn’t it worrisome when the coverage of the other side is to be found only on online news sites like Veterans Today and the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity?
Thai media are complaining about government censorship, but what about media outlets’ own censoring of news? Government-imposed limitations are easy to spot and when it comes to Thailand, easy to understand since the country is undergoing a transition period which some forces want to disturb and derail. It is more difficult to see censorship by the media itself, as we often do not know what is being left out from coverage. The public is easily misled by such one-sided omission. And sadly, readers of the two English-language newspapers here seem not to be overly interested in the dangerous incidents in Syria. The “other” paper has not a single letter about Syria.
A Johnsen
