Hawzah News Agency - The COVID-19 pandemic has put medical doctors through one of the most grueling tests of all time. They are on the front lines of the battle to save human lives and are putting up a truly brave fight. Yet beyond the battle lines, in the confines of comfort, is another tribe of doctors that are engaged in an unusual fight. These are the communal doctors who are devising new medicine and tools for breeding the propaganda of hate. Leading them on the front lines are some journalists who see this pandemic as incendiary fuel to further the communal agenda. Mainstream media has long been engaged in toxic propaganda against Muslims and this new calamity has led to a more lethal mutation of the communal virus.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been so many instances of groups taking a back seat and letting hate win, including governments and international bodies. It was quite understandable because we are not equipped to foresee the course of the trajectory of their agenda. But the role of some journalists in pinning the blame on a particular community and assigning stereotypes to one group only shows a deliberate bias. The hallmark of a fair media is that it always considers facts sacred.
The damage of this pandemic to health, wealth and well-being has already been enormous. The situation we are in is like a world war, except in this case, we’re all on the same side. Hence, instead of pitting one section of humanity against another we should join forces and make it a united fight.
Hatred fuels fire
There are many authors who keep the midnight oil burning to ensure that the light keeps shining on bad Muslims. These stories are produced by a well-oiled Islamophobia machine with financial backers, think tanks and misinformation experts who are constantly manipulating the already flawed image of what Islam is. They are attacking the identity of Muslims, which is so diverse that it cannot possibly fit into one box.
They have not only ratcheted their anti-Muslim rhetoric but also made it more strident. In fact, the entire discourse is being orchestrated on predefined lines. To put it in the words of Jim Morrison, “Whoever controls the media controls the mind.”
Media’s painful role
In an ideal world, journalism is a profession of incredible integrity, and journalists are among the most dexterous and skilled people in the world. We have all benefited from the work of persistent journalists who put their lives, limbs, family and even sanity on the line in pursuit of truth. There is no sane, decent and democratic polity possible without journalists who challenge power, relentlessly pursue and disseminate the truth, and always find another story to tell.
The press once seemed to have a conscience, thanks to history’s painful social conflicts and questions of war and peace. The world, however, has changed, and many of us may be in the time warp of old values. Like all institutions, the media has also suffered in terms of its reputation.
Mark Twain once said, “Stupid people – who constitute the overwhelming majority of this and all other nations – believe and are convinced by what they get out of a newspaper, and there is where the harm lies.”