Is there a media bias in Middle East?

The role of media in conflicts and wars has always been a sensitive topic because providing anything other than accurate news and images on what is happening in those countries can hinder understanding of the situations.

At the same time, real media coverage can help unravel the true face of a war and bring to light the crimes and other barbarities. So it is crucial for the media to strive for balanced reporting by highlighting the concerns of all affected parties.

However, despite the fact that journalists do provide round-the-clock coverage of the happenings on the battleground, disproportionate reporting often raises significant questions about media bias and its impact on public perception.

It is particularly true when it comes to the coverage of the Middle East conflict. International media, especially that of the west, is often accused of either limiting their coverage of the Palestine struggles to mere seconds or a few lines, or accompanied by biased information, while refraining from exposing Israel’s actions.

Analysis shows that the western media is not proportionally highlighting the human toll in Israeli airstrikes and the destruction of Gaza with the same zeal they justify Israel’s actions.

As one publication in an Arab country reported, “While scores of Western journalists are covering the war in Israel, there are few on the ground to report on the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. For them, there is only one side of the story, and that’s what they are projecting”. This means they’re missing a vital aspect of the story.

According to Unicef estimates, more than 420 children are killed or injured in Gaza every day. Nearly 70 per cent of those reported killed were children and women. Reports also indicate that nearly 3,200 children were killed in Gaza in just three weeks, “surpassing the number of children killed annually across the world’s conflict zones since 2019”.

As many independent analysts and media commentators point out, “Palestinians have been in the news for decades, yet it seems that only occasionally do journalists and news organisations get their story right”.

At the same time, cohorts of Israel often claim that there is a global bias against Israel, whether it be at the UN, or from the various human rights organisations documenting Israeli violations.

The fact is that nobody can be objective about innocent people being killed or hurt. No matter whom they are or whom they represent. There is no justification for their killings.

As a journalist, I know that reporting on this complex and sensitive topic, whether on the ground or from a distance, can be challenging due to the deeply rooted historical, political, and religious factors involved.

However, the absence of detailed information on casualties and destruction can widen the information gap between conflicts!

According to Pavlos Nerantzis, who covered wars for 30 years in Latin America, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Asia, once a journalist is called upon to gather information about a major event such as an armed conflict, he or she is essentially making history; it becomes history the moment it is made.

“The journalist is certainly not a historian, but he or she is de facto required to capture and convey to the public in words and images what is happening at the moment it is happening," said Pavlos, who authored “Truth is Bombed. Media and war through the eyes of a war correspondent”.

As journalists, we should treat the stories of Palestinians from a perspective that recognises them as humans. We should see Israel cutting off water and electricity to Gaza as an act of terrorism!

Look at those Arab journalists who were killed in the Gaza bombing. There is no word about them! No life is less important. The killing of civilians in any context is not acceptable, whether in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, or Israel.

The distortion of facts has virtually turned the media into a propaganda tool for warmongers. It appears that this kind of objective journalism is meant to serve their respective governments’ policy of unequivocal support for Israel.