CDFJ: Western media 'not credible', serve Israeli disinformation

By Al Mayadeen English
22 Oct 2023 19:36
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According to the CDFJ, Western media outlets have actively played a role in "promoting Israeli lies and fake news."

Protesters take part in a solidarity march with Palestine in London on October 21, 2023. (AFP)

According to the Center for Defending Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ), many Western media outlets have served "Israeli disinformation campaigns," rather than being objective and impartial.

According to the CDFJ, these outlets have actively played a role in "promoting Israeli lies and fake news."

According to the Center, the Western media's viewpoint is not owing to a lack of awareness of professional norms, but rather to an obvious political prejudice at the expense of independence and professionalism.

In addition, media outlets did not try to verify false information and were complicit in the spread of lies about beheaded Israeli babies and believing the Israeli claims that Palestinian Islamic Jihad was responsible for the targeting of al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, allowing the Israeli occupation to be "absolved of its responsibility."

The Center also remarked that media outlets “did not review history, nor their archives to see the number of lies that the occupation authorities have spread in the past decades." Had they done so, they would have seen the "dozens of crimes" it had committed.

The CDFJ also decried the prejudice of many Western media sources based on the victims' identity and connection, rather than the right to life, the right to human dignity, and all other rights protected by the International Bill of Human Rights.

Many did not urge or demand basic human rights be given to Gazans and turned a blind eye to war crimes committed by the occupation.

Professional conduct completely ignored

The Center drew parallels between the media's reaction to the war in Ukraine and how they referred to Russian actions as "Russian aggression".

“Why did the conscience of the Western media wake up in Ukraine, and most of it did not about what is happening in Gaza?”

Professional conduct, like independence and bias rejection, were completely ignored, and journalists who criticized "Israel" were harshly boycotted by campaigns.

The Center warned of the Israeli occupation's practice of shutting down several media sites under the guise of "harming national security," noting that the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate addressed this in detail in a statement.

The CDFJ urged Western media to reconsider their stances, commit to exposing the truth, align with the ideals of justice and right, and accept the human rights norms that they have always claimed in their coverage and press reports.

Furthermore, the Center reiterated a call of solidarity with the Palestinian media, against which systematic campaigns of silence are being carried out, reminding the world of the journalists who have been martyred by the occupation.

According to the Center, the Israeli occupation attempts to hide its crimes by targeting journalists, believing that murdering witnesses will destroy the truth.