How the Media Portrays Terrorism “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses,” were the words of Malcolm X during his famed 1963 speech. Many believe this quote has lost relevance in our contemporary society. However, on the contrary, it rings more true than ever. One popular topic that has had an extreme influence on our society due to the way the media portrays it is terrorism. Whether it is a tragic event such as 9/11 or simply the way it portrays Muslims, the media tends to sensationalize the fear and tragedy of such events to increase publicity while also depicting all terrorists as Muslim …show more content…
One is a tall African American wearing a baseball cap. The next a middle-aged white farmer. The one after, an Asian teenager. Finally the last is a middle-eastern fellow wearing a turban. You most likely selected the Muslim, middle-eastern man. Now you may be feeling a bit of guilt since you chose the last man simply due to his religion and ethnicity. But it is not your fault. This simple scenario proves exactly how influential the media can really be. When you a picture a terrorist, unfortunately it is inevitable you picture the last guy in the police lineup. As the host, Brian Kilmeade of Fox News once said, “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims.” The Fox network even came to Kilmeade’s defense after this comment. Clearly Brian was oblivious to this statistic: non-Muslims have carried out more than 90% of all terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Nevertheless, the millions of viewers watching that telecast did not have anyone to combat his hurtful accusations with any evidence or facts, with which you are provided here. Instead, the majority of the audience probably sat on the couch nodding their heads having come to this false
Negative portrayals of Muslims in the mainstream media have led to widespread islamophobia in society. The way the media have illustrated Islam and Muslims in the media has influenced citizens to be misinformed about the true nature of both Muslims and Islam. As a result of the negative representations of Muslims in the media, societies views of Muslims have been adversely rendered and caused an unnecessary fear of Muslims in society. Exacerbation of islamophobia in the media has also led to a number of hate crimes towards Muslims (McQueeney, 2014). Instead of focusing on real news, medias often narrate stories
After September 11, 2001, U.S. citizens were shocked that over 2,900 people were dead because of Islamic extremists (Kean, et al. "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States"). More deaths occurred in the Paris and San Bernardino attacks. Tensions between the U.S. and Islamic extremists have not yet subsided. Americans receive information regarding Islamic extremists through the media, from which they form opinions on what the U.S.’s foreign policy with the Middle East should be, which affects military spending. To what extent has the media’s portrayal of Islamic extremists affected U.S. military spending and relations with the Middle East?
On the covers of newspapers and on the screens of many, the story of the Boston marathon hits the ground. Twenty six thousand eight hundred thirty nine people from all over the world came to run in this awe-inspiring marathon. Until the tragedy strikes right in their faces. The explosions, injuring scores of people, effected the lives of innocent civilians. Cheers were replaced with screams, sirens, and the first responders providing aide to the citizens. This was a brutal event just like the one on September 11, 2001. Instead of using seclusion towards political and economical reasons for events, the mass medias perceptive towards incidents involving the religion Islam has created the stereotypical thought in society in which we live in today.
The media today is full of coverage about terrorism. From terrorist threats to both unsuccessful and successful terrorist acts.
The media never seems to equate white crime with negative phrases, but will have extensive news stories on any crime committed by an Arab, unafraid to automatically link the crime to terrorism. Examples include the treatment of Dylann Roof, who was fueled by his beliefs in white supremacy and neo-Nazicsm and opened fire on an African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing 9 Africans (The Associated Press). He was labeled troubled by the media, with his religion receiving no backlash. One might say that his actions do not determine the morality of his religion as a whole, yet when it comes to Islam, we see no problem in grouping extremists with the other 1.6 billion peaceful followers of the
Since Islam is a religion that promotes peace and kindness, one could ask where the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists originated. Following the tragedies of September 11, 2001, Arabs and Muslims have been presented as potential terrorists. This idea stemmed from the theory that, “media bias increases when a specific ethnic, religious, or racial group is seen as a threat to national security.” (Stiffler, 2013). Since the attacks on September 11, 2001 Muslims and Arabs have been “hyper-visible” in the media as potential terrorists. Due to the negative media attention and failure of most media platforms to
According to Hurley et al. findings, this particular notion has negatively impacted how the public views a black suspect’s likelihood of being rehabilitated. Today, the media greatly influence how the public views a certain group of people such as African Americans and Muslims. Saleem et al. investigates how the media influence’s the public perceptions of Muslims. This particular study indicates that participants who viewed news reports that show Muslims as extremist support policies and military action that can greatly harm Muslims, which was mediated how aggressive they believed Muslims are. The media outlets often report news without explaining the entire story to their viewers. This particular issue has created plenty stereotypes that currently exist about Blacks and Muslims in the United
The media portrays me as a terrorist. After 9/11, being Muslim in America meant that you had to live in fear, conceal your faith, or pay the price of retaliation by someone who reacted out of ignorance. It meant you had to constantly apologize for acts of terrorism committed by criminals that use Islam as a banner to progress their vendettas. However, being Muslim also meant that you could learn self-disciple through the five-daily prayers, patience, and tolerance as I tried to understand the reasons why so many Americans feared Muslims. Unfortunately, I did not see the benefit of expressing my faith until I was much older.
Every time an attack on Western soil occurs, widespread outrage disseminates. Within seconds social media is flooded, tweets such as ‘prayforparis’ immediately start trending. Mainstream media outlets are quick to place the blame on Muslims, usually without evidence. Because of this, whenever there is a significant event developing, we as a society are conditioned to instantaneously connect certain words (bomb, armed gunman, etc.) with Islam. Despite the fact that in
Muslims do not seem to have achieved social acceptance in the society as compared to other ethnic or racial minority groups. Although deviant behavior by Muslims or Muslim organizations can in no way be considered acceptable let alone be tolerable, denouncing an entire community of people of the same religion, color or ethnicity etc. as terrorists or evil or with any other form of bigotry cannot be acceptable either. However, the mainstream media today tries to foster hate and intolerance among people towards minority groups. The shift in journalism from providing public with information to providing personal opinions and views is one of the major flaws in the media today and is a vital aspect of media bias. The fact that journalists, media celebrities and activists try to convince the viewers into believing their own opinions and views and are told what to think instead of just providing them with information is what is wrong with the media today. According to an American broadcast journalist, news corporations are on a quest to increase profits and television rating point which has led to partisanship. Moreover he claims that in achieving this it has “supported the rise of hyper-opinionated news personalities, and encouraged the embrace of their biased approach to news gathering” (“Introduction” 4). It is common to come across activists and other media personalities making bold statements and declaration against the Muslim community. An astonishing example of the media
“If the media were not there to report terrorist acts and to explain their political and social significance...terrorism as such would cease to exist” said John O'Sullivan, an editor of the Times of London.1 This is also the way many other people feel about the recent increase in terrorist activity; they feel that the media is causing it. The media is doing this by fulfilling the terrorists' need for publicity.2 Terrorists need media publicity in order to get their views spread to the public.3 Because of this need for publicity, terrorists are committing their acts of terrorism in areas where a lot of publicity will be gained; the United States and Western Europe are the most recent targets. The bombings of the federal building in
Some people say don’t trust the media it’s a bunch of malarkey blown into proportion. I agree with that somewhat, and do understand that the media sometimes is malarkey but there is some truth in the media. In general the media is more negative than positive. Coming from a Muslim family life was good as a child with our community, our neighborhood and had no hatred toward the Muslim people. Then after a fate full day of 9-11-2001, tragic, and heartbreaking day many life changed. The media began to make the Muslim people a scapegoat. The media began to generalize and categorize the Muslim people with a terrorist organizations. The media in general has many other negative impacts on society but the generalization that was blowing up to proportion
Violence has become a serious problem in America. From Sandy Hook Elementary to the Aurora Colorado shootings, terrorism has crept deeper into the culture. From 1982-1992 there were eight incidences of terrorism. From 2002-2012 there have been seventeen (Geigner). The growth at which these events are spreading is exponential. Modern terrorism did not begin until approximately the 1950s when it changed from guerrilla tactics used by a nation to the to the type common today, non-state terrorism. These assailants fight for no flag, have no rules, and will do whatever they feel like at any given moment (Zalman). The violence these radicals produce is cataclysmic. However, instead of being distressed by this violence, citizens latch onto the offenders. They give the assailant the fame and popularity that he or she desires. For example, within hours of Boston Bombings, the faces of the two assassins were broadcasted everywhere in the media, and rightly so. The police needed the help of the public to find and capture these criminals. But constant media coverage three weeks after the event was unnecessary. Many say that sensationalist media, not gun control is the reason for attacks of violence. Those who terrorize the nation are held up almost as heroes. Their names are plastered on every news station around the world. Assailants will always find ways to kill even with the extreme control of guns. But, without the publicity and the fame, psychopaths would not need to kill innocent
"The US media has been clubbing together terrorism and Islam, influencing the American public to think that all Arab Muslims are "crazy and violent terrorists"… The American media has been a primary agent responsible for creating racist stereotypes, images and
Attacks receive more coverage when they harm or kill victims, involve hijackings or aircraft, have known perpetrators, and select targets associated with Western countries. A study of transnational terrorism shows that attacks that inflict injuries are twice as likely to attract media attention as those that do not. The attacks in which the perpetrator can be identified are four times as likely to be reported in a newspaper and ten times as likely to be reported on television (The Media’s Role in International Terrorsim). Attacks in the Middle East or Europe are twice as likely to receive media attention as attacks perpetrated in Latin America (The Media’s Role in International Terrorism). There are very similar factors that influence media coverage of attacks that take place within the United States.