Monday, April 07, 2003

 
AL JAZEERA IS VERY BIASED. BUT NOT AS BIASED AS THE U.S. MEDIA.
External link:

Al Jazeera's English language site displays an obvious pro-Arab and pro-Iraqi bias. But it is not nearly as strong as the bias displayed by most American media, such as, say, the absurdly right-wing Fox News Channel. Al Jazeera doesn't just make stuff up or only tell one side of the story or (unlike the U.S. media) merely parrot the claims of the local military as though they were fact. I'm not saying Al Jazeera doesn't have an "us and them" mentality, which identifies itself more with the Iraqis than with the Americans. But this bias is tiny compared to the "us and them" mentality of the American media that identifies itself with the "coalition of the willing". I mean, Al Jazeera's English language Web site is not running stories about some poor Iraqi guy who's off to war, and saying, "oh, we sure hope he comes back alive," like I've seen reporters say about American troops on CNN. They're not saying, "our prayers are with the Iraqi troops," like I've seen said by an anchorman on ABC about the American forces. They're certainly not saying the equivalent of "it's not a question of if, but when Baghdad will fall to American forces", like I saw a straight news reporter "report" on Fox News Channel. Face it: Al Jazeera's English language Web site is much more objective and much less of a propaganda arm of the local military than any US press.

Don't take my word for it. See for yourself. Look at Al Jazeera's page about the "War on Iraq". Now, look at Fox News's page about the same war, that it calls "The War on Terror". And just decide for yourself which is more biased.

Here are some of Fox's headlines right now: "On the Homefront: Base Town Is 'Cocoon' for Military Families: Lawton, Okla., next door to Fort Sill, has neighbors taking care of each other as spouses head to Gulf," which begins, "Sami Roberts saves her tears for work, where her 18-month-old son can't see them and her supervisor, a Gulf War veteran, understands."; "A Nation Speaks Out: Honk If You've Had It With Die-Ins," which begins, "Blocking traffic is the tactic of choice these days among anti-war protesters. But just how effective can it be, when it angers commuters and packs police precincts with arrested activists?"; "Fallen Heroes: America's War Dead: List of U.S. personnel killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom"; "The War at Home: War Can't Stop Story Time: Deployed parents read to their kids on videotape so they don't seem so far away"; "Weapons of Mass Destruction: Fox News' WMD Handbook: Fox News' overview of biological, chemical, nuclear, radiological weapons"; and, at this late hour, "Possible Chemical Weapons Found" (more on this below). I haven't listed every headline, and some of the ones I've left out do seem like objective news, but I've listed roughly half their headlines here.

Now, here's the MOST pro-Iraqi biased things I can find on Al Jazeera's page: "Up to 14 killed as missiles strike residential area"; "Gulf states for UN role in post-war Iraq: Arab countries in the Gulf, crucial hosts to the US military, said on Monday that the Iraqi people should decide their future with guidance from the United Nations"; "Hard talk in Belfast: Bush and Blair, greeted by anti-war protestors, seek to iron out differences over post-war administration in Iraq"; "US police use force to suppress protests: Police used extraordinary force to suppress protests against the invasion of Iraq on Monday, firing rubber bullets, concussion grenades and arresting many in California and New York." "Huge gap between arms spend and relief: President Bush is spending 120 times more to topple the Iraqi government than the amount he's willing to devote to feeding and housing Iraqi victims."; and "WMD 'smoking gun' turns out to be pesticide: US alarm over weapons of mass destruction seems to be fading after false reports and orders to shed protective suits." Note that in that last case, ABC News is also reporting today that the suspected Iraqi chemical weapons are merely pesticide. The Fox News story headlined "Possible Chemical Weapons Found" waits until the twelfth paragraph to acknowledge that "Agence France-Presse reported that the substances had turned out to be pesticides".

Hey, this isn't a trick, and I'm not trying to brainwash anybody. I have absolutely no political agenda with regard to anybody's opinion of Al Jazeera. I'm just saying we've all heard a lot of things about Al Jazeera, and how they're much more biased than the American news, and I was shocked to learn that those things just aren't true, and I know that because I checked it out for myself. You should, too.

This is The Official Record. 11:15 PM
link to this item: http://www.creamy.com/blog/2003/04/al-jazeera-is-very-biased-but-not-as.html


Check for older comments: Archived comments on item #200112658