[June 9, 2021] On several occasions, I noted a tendency for Western media toward an anti-democratic bias (see links here, here, and here). Whether it is honoring dead Islamic terrorists or advocating for looting, rioting, and murder, many news organizations have failed at their most basic task – providing impartial information to the public. A recent example of media bias and propaganda was the May 26 New York Times page-one feature on the Gaza War.
This bias is a clear failure of media leadership at its most fundamental level.
The NYT article titled, “They were only children,” as explained by Robert Satloff of The Times of Israel1 and Wallis Simon’s of Spectator2, lay out the facts on the “69 youths under 18 years old … killed in the 11 days of conflict between Israel and Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” There is a problem with the Times feature. Their leadership has purposefully allowed a deep-seated bias to creep into their news reporting.
Fake images were used to “prove” that Israeli aggression kills kids.
Both Satloff and Simon discuss the post-publication disclosures regarding many of the child victims depicted in the Time’s front-page photo. Several of the images were of terrorists (yes, under 18) or families of terrorists. Others were just lifted from images taken from Twitter, claiming some were killed without verification. Still, the approximately 600 Hamas rockets that erroneously landed in Gaza killed more.
When your job is to report the news impartially, and you become a political actor, failure is coming your way.
Our politicalized media reporters purposefully misrepresents reality to support their anti-democratic values. This bias runs contrary to the stated purpose of these organizations and those leading them. It also reflects poorly on our nation’s leaders when they fail to set the record straight.
We rightly judge our police, military, and political forces as generally trustworthy and professional. The same cannot be said of Western news media. In the U.S., we support those who protect and defend our homes and freedoms. These are the fundamental beliefs of nearly every citizen. When the media reports against them, our immediate reaction is not to believe the media.
Leaders within the media should put a stop to their biases. A good leader would immediately review any accusation of bias and work to remove such bias. That is not done, ever. The Times, as an example, stands by their reporters on this article and have ignored the fact that their article is riddled with serious errors.
Corruption, Lying, Propaganda?
When the leadership of such organizations allow corruption to enter, they have failed. Media bias? In the case of the news media, I call it lying.
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Here’s a crazy article, “Media bias is OK – if it’s honest”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/10/media-bias-is-ok-if-its-honest
Crazy or stupid? Or both?
Poll after poll shows that the public has some serious disdain for the media and it’s easy to see why: the media’s left-wing bias is shoved in the public’s face on a daily basis, especially during the age of President Trump, yet the media still puts on the facade that they’re objective.
The slow destruction of a profession that has the ability – but not the will – to stop their descent into oblivion. No surprise here that alternative sources of the news is now available.
Another nail in the coffin of a once proud profession. Now, whenever I meet a “news reporter,” I say I’m sorry for them and offer them a better job.
Ha Ha, great comment V. I’m sure that takes them off guard.
Not where I live. They are just too WOKE to know any better and they live well within their echo chamber. Nothing ever contradicts them and when somebody comes along to deny their “truth”, they go crazy.
Excellent article Gen. Satterfield. I would like for you to do more on ‘media bias.’ Whenever you can. I enjoy and learn a great deal each time.
Gen. Satterfield, you sure nailed it with this article. Media bias is undermining our democracy. And there are many examples for the nitwits that don’t believe it. Here is just one I got from the Washington Post.
“On April 15, the Biden administration acknowledged there was no evidence that Russia ever offered bounties on American troops in Afghanistan, walking back a report that wounded former President Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2020 election. “
So true. So sad. Why can’t they just report the news instead of injecting their anti-American ideology into it? And, they think they are so superior to all the rest of us. That’s what gags me.
“How the New York Times has published lies to serve a biased narrative”
https://nypost.com/2021/05/08/how-the-new-york-times-publishes-lies-to-serve-a-biased-narrative/
Good article, I highly recommend it.
“Star reporters cite fuzzily identified sources and make sweeping assertions to support a narrative aligned with the corporate whims, economic needs and political preferences of the patriarchal Ochs-Sulzberger family, which has helmed the operation since 1896.” from the article and on point.
Thanks Greg for the research. 👍
I only wish that colleges would warn their students about this bias (corruption is a better word and properly used by Gen. Satterfield in this case).
Yep, you got that right RJ. I simply cancelled all my subscriptions to traditional media. I no longer trust them. Maybe there is a glimmer of truth in there but it takes a lot of reading to ferret out the real story from the propaganda.
Lies, Lies, and more Lies. What else is new with the media? Nothing. It is no longer about bias, it is about corruption at the deepest level.
Media Bias — we all get to know them by the lies they tell.