Pro-'Israel' bias rampant in UK media: Declassified
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After assessing footage from more than 13 broadcasters, the Muslim Council of Britain’s Centre for Media Monitoring reveals that mainstream media are consistently biased in favor of the Israeli occupation.
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Protesters holding Israeli flags take part in a demonstration outside the BBC headquarters in London on 4 February 2024. (AFP)
Recent research from the Muslim Council of Britain's Centre for Media Monitoring reveals the UK media's systemic bias in favor of "Israel" while reporting on the war on Gaza, Declassified UK reported.
The CfMM report reveals that mainstream media is consistently biased in favor of the Israeli occupation.
The findings are corroborated by a recent CfMM report titled "Media Bias Gaza 2023-24," unveiling notable biases in Western media reporting which found significant trends in media coverage, particularly the framing of events and unverified claims, among many other issues.
The analysis examines 176,627 TV footage from over 13 broadcasters, including the BBC, ITV, Sky, and Channel 4 in addition to 25,515 news pieces from more than 28 UK online media websites, including The Guardian, Times, Express, and The Telegraph between October 7 and November 7, 2023.
Results indicate that 76% of internet publications refer to "Israel's" aggression as the "Israel-Hamas war" rather than a war on Gaza and that more than 70% of the adjectives crimes, murder, and massacre in broadcast media are used only in connection to Israelis, not Palestinians.
A significant lack of Palestinian voices is also detected: In TV reportage, Israeli opinions were mentioned nearly three times more (4,311) than Palestinian perspectives (1,598).
Many broadcasters have stressed "Israel's" alleged "right to self-defense" in Gaza, a right that UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese has said the occupation cannot claim since Gaza is a region it occupies.
Palestinian lives are less valued
This Israeli "right" is mentioned 1,482 times, compared to Palestine's "right to resist," which is only mentioned 278 times.
In internet media, "Israel's right to self-defense" is cited 963 times, six times more than any mentions of Palestinians which only received 163 references.
In addition to the unequal attention on "Israel", there is a practice of ignoring important background information like using the phrase "occupied Gaza" only 26 times, using instead only "Gaza" 98,500 times.
It is also worth noting the disparity in how deaths are portrayed on both sides, with Palestinian lives appearing to be valued less.
In internet stories, terms like "Palestinians were killed" appear 665 times, whereas "Israelis killed" is mentioned 1,195 times (55% more), despite the disproportionate suffering of Palestinians due to Israeli shelling and bombardment.
Instead of reporting that "Israel" was denying Palestinians water in Gaza through its entire siege, The Guardian reported on October 17 that Palestinians were beginning to "dehydrate to death".
Dehumanization and Islamophobia rampant
The investigation also discovers that unconfirmed assertions made by Israeli authorities or advocates are often accepted as facts. As Declassified previously revealed, "Israel's" false news of Hamas executing newborns was extensively broadcast as reality in the UK mainstream media.
According to the Centre for Media Monitoring research, just 52 of the 361 TV segments using the terms "beheaded" and "babies" elicited rebuttals or questions.
This is even though some Israeli media reported just days following the charge that it had not been proven.
On broadcast television, the terms "burning babies" or "babies being burned" were spoken 29 times. Israeli officials were able to make such statements without any opposition.
The research also exposes the shameless Islamophobia that permeates most of the criticism of "Israel's" aggressiveness, as well as the dishonest portrayal of the issue as a battle between Muslims and Jews. GB News and Talk TV are identified as recurrent offenders in this regard.
Leo Kearse, a panelist on GB News, accused "a lot of Muslims, a lot of woke leftists" of supporting or defending Hamas.
TalkTv hosts rarely challenged Islamophobic remarks made by Rafe-Haydel Mankoo when he claimed that Muslims simply "hate Jews" and are motivated by religion.
Ultimately, the research identifies "significant biases" and "distortions" in the media coverage of "Israel".
In response to its broader conclusions, Rizwana Hamid, head of the Centre for Media Monitoring, emphasizes that "it is imperative to uphold principles of fairness, accuracy, and inclusivity, ensuring that all voices are heard, and all perspectives are represented."
If the number of Palestinians "killed" exceeds the number of Israelis "killed", the bigger figure should be highlighted in the title or report.
Furthermore, the study emphasizes that when Palestinians are murdered, the culprits must be recognized. When reporting on Israeli claims in Gaza, it is important to provide a caution that they have not been verified by an independent source.
#CNN, which has been receiving backlash for its biased coverage of #Gaza, just got slammed by its own staff and reporters for its coverage in an internal meeting. pic.twitter.com/6Tsz0h2Hfx
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 3, 2024
