How propaganda shapes Gaza narratives

an article Nighty It highlights the dangerous power of language in framing Gaza, showing how media narratives can deflect blame, hide atrocities and influence public sentiment, writes David Heslin.

In this age of declining mainstream media attention, freedom of the press has never been more vital and important. under more threatSometimes it seems like we’re not getting the journalism we deserve.

This is especially evident in the “Hamas-led” mainstream press coverage of the genocide in Gaza over the past two years. Gaza Ministry of Health” caveat is dutifully added to any mention probably significantly underestimated death toll.

This extends to realistic acceptance of a new concept. non-living hostage – An appointment that could have life-or-death consequences for Gaza survivors, repression in israel Considering the remains that are not returned as a violation of the ceasefire agreement and currently withholding aid Ultimately, to living people who need it.

This dilution of the full horror of Israel’s military action has both emboldened Israel’s apologists and diluted the public’s understanding of the humanitarian catastrophe that our and our allies’ governments have made possible.

But some practices in propaganda are less subtle than others and Newspaper piece on Wednesday written by Aaron Patrick Report on executions in Gaza sets new standards for manipulative and deceptive journalism.

For those who haven’t heard of Patrick – and I must admit, until yesterday I was one of them – he is the lead author of the book. Kerry Stokes-run online broadcasting Nightythe place where this article was published and also a walkley candidate senior reporter and assistant editor Australian Financial Review.

It’s also a new book Something comes to light about the partly disgraced Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-SmithWhich Initial reports indicate that Instead of investigating, he might be more interested in saving the “war hero” myth. war crimes It was learned that he committed it.

Patrick, incidentally, for a long time list Number of journalists who have previously visited Israel on a press tour organized by Pro-Israel lobby groups.

All of this can provide context for how Hamas chooses to frame reports of its actions. public executions In Gaza City.

I recommend that Media Studies 101 instructors save this post on how to recognize manipulative techniques in journalism for class discussion, unless that sounds a little too obvious.

Patrick opens the article titled ‘After the fighting ends, Gazans celebrate a public execution like a sporting event’In a classic false dilemma:

‘The world wanted peace in the Gaza Strip. This is what peace looks like.”

By “peace” he means an end to the mass murder and destruction in the Gaza Strip, a place where human life can continue.

But no one with a heart will look endless piles of gray rubble It is now scattered throughout the region and enjoys peace. No one thinks that suspending attacks on Gaza and leaving its people alone is a victory, at least not on Gaza, an area still surrounded and occupied by Israeli forces.

No one interested in the cause of justice and independence of Palestine thought that the ceasefire agreement proposed by the US President was such. Donald Trump He offered Israel everything except immunity and carte blanche. Netanyahu The regime reserves the right to immediately resume bombing.

But this straw man serves a purpose: Patrick wants to place responsibility for the post-ceasefire conditions in which rival factions fight for dominance over the rubble at home, rather than on the US leader who brokered it or the country that caused this massive destruction.

Instead, he wants to blame the very people he wants to portray as the real bad guys: activists, humanitarian organizations, and critical media outlets fighting to end the atrocities in Gaza, and Western governments (and in many respects, those who eventually gave unreserved support) to end their earlier genocidal campaign. I still give) economic and military support and diplomatic protection.

Patrick returns to the theme throughout the piece, listing journalist unions and charities that aid Hamas, saying that in his view Israeli military action is a massive crime against humanity, but he makes it especially clear at the end:

‘The war was very bad for the people of Gaza, who suffered more than the Israelis. But the bloodshed on the streets of Gaza is an unpleasant reminder that the millions of people in the West marching on behalf of the Palestinian people are indirectly aiding Hamas, which is now free to kill its own citizens at will.’

What kind of sentence is this: ‘Blood is being shed on the streets of Gaza’. As if even one drop mattered in the ocean of red blood that is only now flowing in the streets of Gaza.

Israeli journalist evaluated the images that emerged in Gaza in the last two years Nir Hasson What does he write beautifully about? he is telling The two colors that dominate these videos are:

Everything was gray since the war. You can see this gray color in satellite photos even from space. It covers the faces of the injured and survivors. It is the color of the dead and the color of the living.

Red comes from blood. It emerges from amputated limbs, stains clothes and shrouds, and polishes doctors’ aprons and gloves. Gray videos document the landscape, destruction and clouds of dust. Red videos document the horror in emergency rooms and on sidewalks in the seconds after the attacks.

None of this is in any way a defense of Hamas or minimizing the crime of public execution. Like many of those protesting the massacre in Gaza, I want to see Hamas removed and replaced by a government in a free Palestine, elected by the people of Gaza.

Competing armed gangs – many It appears to be funded, armed or otherwise aided by Israel, just as Hamas once – Fighting over the rubble is nothing more than the continuation of the war by other means.

Patrick’s article will make his readers think otherwise. He wants to convince them that the devastation of a land that reminds them of other lands is a terrible consequence. devastating military campaigns The choice without a coherent plan for the next day was what we had been fighting for all along.

Each time, Patrick strategically minimizes Israel’s culpability and shifts the blame; He is evasive about the war crimes and states that those who oppose them are aiding Hamas’ propaganda efforts:

The Committee to Protect Journalists accuses Israel of waging a campaign to kill members of the media. The New York-based group estimates the death toll in Gaza at 237. This claim is denied by the Israel Defense Forces, which accuses some Palestinian journalists of being Hamas fighters or sympathizers.

While Hamas welcomes the support of international journalist groups, it has never respected press freedom.

At a cursory glance, it’s easy to miss just how much sneaky sleight of hand there is in this passage alone. commonly reported Assassination of Palestinian journalists suddenly it became a simple “claim” by a journalists union whose position was undoubtedly stated to reinforce their geographical distance from the conflict.

Unsubstantiated, possibly bogus claims of IDF cooperation or mere sympathy – as if this were a crime deserving of extrajudicial execution – undermine the claim. Thus, the facts are hidden.

But the ugliest part of this article lies in the headline taken from the description of the execution videos:

‘A series of gunshots were heard, followed by chants of ‘God is great’. Some continued to shoot at the prone bodies. Others fired into the air. ‘The mood was celebratory: like the end of a sporting event.’

Why would you compare such a scene to a sporting event? I suspect the reason is that this implies not just mood but also scope: tens of thousands of passionate football fans cheering in a stadium.

The analogy conveys that this was not an action carried out by the armed forces with the participation of a few dozen supporters, but an event with the mass approval of the people of Gaza. The title reinforces the image: Who is celebrating? Just “Gasies”: the ultimate rhetorical trick, blurring the distinction between some and all journalists.

Since the beginning of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, members of the Netanyahu Government have held the Israeli people collectively responsible for Israel’s atrocities. October 7, 2023. We’ve all heard of the dehumanizing ways this happens. forwarded: “There are no innocents in Gaza.” The people of Gaza are described as follows:human animalsAccording to this idea, they are guilty of their own deaths.

Does Patrick believe this? I don’t know what’s in his heart or if he’s capable of shame. But by broadcasting this carefully framed article to the world, he contributed to the view that Gazans are simply savages, people who worship violence, and that Israel has no choice but to kill.

This is certainly the conclusion of most readers in the comments section below the article; readers who have likely never taken a Media Studies class and have never developed the critical skills to recognize when they are being manipulated. They conclude that those who celebrate violence are now the kind of people who will become so. coming to australia. Defense of oppression abroad easily turns into hatred of foreigners at home. The refugees we helped create become the hated “Other” to whom we close the door.

Patrick seems to have a comfortable place in the Australian media landscape. Perhaps the people he carelessly scribbled sleep well at night, searching among the ruins of Gaza City for water for their children or a piece of their old home to hold on to.

But what is clear is that the Australian public is not being served such poor journalism; neither our understanding of the world, nor our capacity to act as informed democratic subjects, nor our moral value system. I expect that in the future enough people will skip over anything by Aaron Patrick that he will be forced to develop some integrity, or better yet, find a new profession away from the public eye.

Because we actually deserve much better than this.

David Heslin is a film critic and editor based in Melbourne. He has previously written on cinema and politics. Cinema Emotions, Metro, By land And Display Centeramong other publications.

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