WAR AND DECEPTION: HOW THE MEDIA ARE AT THE CENTRE OF THE WORLD’S POLITICAL STAGE
“History is just journalism, and you know how reliable that is…”
-Joseph Campbell
Recently, comedian, author and activist Russell Brand made a series of videos on his YouTube channel, calling for his 5+ million subscribers to take a step back from the current reporting of the crisis in Ukraine and to read between the lines of what we are being told.
Compelling his viewers to take stock of what the possible motivations were behind the narratives being peddled by the media regarding the crisis, Brand took the bold move of doing what few other public figures would be willing to do in such sensitive times: he asked us to be critical, he encouraged independent thought. Question everything. Be wary, be educated. In saying this, Brand invites his supporters to avoid getting whipped into a frenzy by the media moguls and asks us instead to take a calm and measured look at the media’s role in what’s happening. In the past, as with today, the headlines shape up much of what we perceive to be reality.
The ongoing crisis which rages on in Ukraine at the hands of Vladimir Putin and his troops serves as a stark reminder of the violence of the Iraq invasion, where our leaders laid their justifications for their actions across news headlines and reports. We were told then, as we are again today, what to believe, what to accept and who to support — yet there seems to be very little opportunity for discourse surrounding these issues; issues which have immense impact upon the world’s social, political, spiritual and financial welfare.
It seems that if there was ever a time to take a deeper look at the role of media in the world’s conflicts, it is now, as we face echoes of the atrocities of the Invasion of Iraq happening all over again — much of the drama is the same, it’s just the players are different. How exactly does the media shape what we believe and accept, and is there anything we can do to combat the accounts being peddled by those invested in keeping us compliant?
We are a world hungry for information, but how reliable, how trustworthy, are these institutions relaying the information that we base our day-to-day opinions on? In today’s environment of viral stories and social media, we are all-too easily entangled and influenced by the reports of those who have certain investments in what we believe and accept. This has, undeniably, far-reaching consequences, for much of our understanding of geopolitics come from these media outlets who are controlling what we are being told.
If you don’t think the world’s media are controlling the population’s point of view, think again. Can news media and journalism ever be impartial when statistics of ownership are staggering: in the USA, the majority of news media is owned by just six corporations and 15 billionaires. According to Media Reform, the UK has just three companies in control of 90% of it’s news-print media (DMG Media, Reach PLC and News UK).
It is, therefore, impossible to believe our impressions of the world can ever be accurate or impartial when the stories being fed to us is controlled by so few. We are seeing so much, but from such a narrow lens. Our information is from the mouthpieces of so few in the industry that it can surely only be shaped and adjusted to fit the story they want us to hear. Where does this leave us?
When it comes to reporting on issues such as the current Ukraine crisis, why are the public often confused about the deep rooted circumstances of the affair? Because the accounts are not reported with the aim to inform audiences: they want us to be in a state of confusion with their scaremongering and causing division amongst people.
In a media that prefers caricatures and pantomime villains, it is easy to overlook the fact that real people are losing their lives. Earlier this week, the news site Daily Mail chose to concoct a story focusing on the Russian President’s bloated appearance (“Flabby-mir Putin”). It is reports like this that seem to overlook the seriousness and reality of what is happening on the geopolitical stage right now.
We as readers need to know that information has not been misrepresented in order to create a story that fits a preconceived notion. In an industry that has a significant amount of power to deliver information, objectivity in journalism should be re-examined. We need it. People expect impartiality from other public services; we should demand the same from those that serve the news that they attempt to bombard readers with every day.
Many in society — and the world at large — are waking up and are ready to have this conversation. We are starting to examine where our stories come from. Are these media outlets serving us — or serving a political agenda? If so, who specifically benefits from this? Are they creating a healthy understanding of the world beyond our front door, and the people around us? The viral articles, the click-baiting internet hurricane of information, the gossip-headlines: it all comes from carefully constructed narratives. It is important to ask ourselves this: who is telling us the story, what do they want us to believe and why?
In a world governed by those who would be horrified by people’s uprising and independence, a transparent media reporting without bias would be it’s own worst nightmare. For everything we are told is told with reason. Those reasons (unsurprisingly) serve the benefit of those running things from above, such as our Party leaders and those in a position of power, and rarely the members of the public who are often the ones to pay the heaviest prices in war and poverty.
