Media is a double-edged sword: misleading and directing public opinion

Introduction: The Power of Media and Its Enormous Impact

Media, in all its traditional and modern forms, is a great force that shapes public opinion and directs behavior. It is the window through which we look out onto the world, and the ear through which we hear news and events. Thanks to its wide spread and easy access, the media has become a crucial element in shaping cultural and political identities, and directing public opinion in certain directions

Misuse of Media: A Weapon to Mislead Public Opinion

Unfortunately, this enormous power is sometimes exploited for political and economic purposes, as the media is used as a weapon to mislead public opinion and achieve narrow interests. This is done through

Spreading false news and rumors: Misleading information is broadcast with the aim of defaming individuals and institutions, or inciting hatred and violence

Media bias: Events are covered from a certain angle, focusing on certain aspects and ignoring others, which distorts the true picture of events

Manipulating emotions: Emotional and influential language is used to direct the public’s feelings in certain directions, without relying on facts and evidence

Continuous repetition: Media messages are repeated repeatedly, until they are entrenched in the minds of the public and become an accepted fact

Controlling public opinion: Historical examples

The history of humanity is full of examples of media abuse, the most prominent of which are

World Wars: Media propaganda was used extensively during the two world wars to incite people to war and distort the image of enemies

Communist revolutions: Communist regimes used the media as a basic tool to build the character of the communist citizen and spread communist ideology

Cold Wars: The Cold War witnessed a fierce media conflict between the socialist and capitalist camps, where the media was used as a weapon to influence global public opinion

How do we protect ourselves from media misinformation

To protect ourselves from media misinformation, we must follow the following tips

Verify sources: Before believing any news, we must verify its source and ensure its credibility

Comparing different sources: Different accounts of the same event must be compared, to reach a more comprehensive and accurate picture

Be skeptical of sensational news: We must be wary of sensational and shocking news, as they are often exaggerated or inaccurate

Critical learning: We must develop our critical thinking skills, so that we can analyze and evaluate information objectively

The role of the media in revolutions and uprisings

The media plays a crucial role in revolutions and uprisings, as it can

Reveal the facts: The media can reveal the facts about the violations and crimes committed by the ruling regimes, which increases public awareness and motivates people to revolt

Organize protests: The media can help organize protests and demonstrations, by disseminating information about the place and time of these events

Build solidarity: The media can build solidarity among different segments of society, and encourage national unity

Some of the methods of the Zionist occupation in manipulating the media

Playing the role of the victim and holding the resistance responsible for the woes and destruction that befalls civilians

Direct confrontation with the resistance enters the occupier into a costly and exhausting conflict. Therefore, the occupation resorts to immoral methods classified as war crimes under international law with the aim of psychologically influencing the resistance, weakening their morale, and working to lose popular support and turn regional and international public opinion against the resistance. These methods are less costly and may avoid the occupier entering into a long direct conflict with the resistance. These methods include

Influencing and misleading public opinion by using evasion

First: If the occupier cannot reach and target the resistance elements directly, it resorts to the method of collective punishment and directs its weapons at civilian targets in a brutal and bloody manner that causes widespread destruction and kills a large number of victims. Targeting civilians achieves a number of points, the most important of which are pain and shock among the families of the victims, weakening morale, and creating a state of terror and fear. Consequently, all of this constitutes great psychological pressure on the members of the resistance

International law prohibits the punishment of any person or group of persons for an act they did not commit, but rather was committed by someone else, and this includes prisoners of war or other persons (Geneva Convention III, Article 87, Protocol 1, Article 75-2, Protocol 2, Article 4-2 b)

Second: The occupier begins a media campaign that relies on repeating the same lies and allegations several times in order to evade responsibility for civilian casualties or deliberately targeting civilians and holding the resistance responsible based on claims that members of the resistance were fortified in civilian areas or using civilians as human shields and that the occupation forces were unable to avoid targeting civilians. In this way, it evades moral and criminal responsibility and creates a situation in the eyes of international public opinion that shows members of the resistance as criminals who put the lives of civilians at risk. International law has criminalized the targeting and killing of civilians in all cases and circumstances. The claim that they are using civilians as human shields does not justify their killing, but rather it is considered a war crime. The Hague Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land stipulated in Article 25 that it is prohibited to attack or bombard cities, villages, residential areas or undefended buildings, whatever the means used. The Statute of the International Criminal Court also considered that intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population or against individual civilians not directly participating in hostilities constitutes a war crime

Third: Recruiting media professionals and official spokesmen to comment on the events to plant the idea that the reason for the attack was in response to the resistance movement and to hold the resistance fully responsible for the horrific and painful results, and that the extent of the destruction and victims would not have occurred if the resistance had stopped attacking the occupier. This approach continues repeatedly until people turn against the resistance and divert their anger from the occupier