Media: The Instigator

Dianna Ramirez is a full time student at Northern Virginia Community College, majoring in Science. She has spent the past few weeks researching on her discourse: The Media’s Influence Against Muslims.

Carlos Latuff's political cartoon created September 23, 2012.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States of America was attacked by a couple of airplane hijackers who claimed to have done what the their “God” had demanded them to do.  Unfortunately, these terrorist claimed to belong to the Muslim religion. 

This horrendous act stained the public’s perception towards the Muslim religion and its followers.  The world seemed to have grown a hatred towards these innocent people. The media was allowed to take control over the situation that was growing amongst the public and the Muslims. 

In a peer- reviewed article named (RE) presenting: Muslims on North American Television, published by Amir Hussain, the author finds in his research that media is far more interested in receiving high ratings and profits, than they are interested in investigative journalism.  This statement should tell you that the whole truth is not important to the media, if it is not bringing any money in.

Muslims became an easy target after the tragedy of 9/11.  Discrimination against this minority group was allowed when the media began to publish pieces that mocked this religion. The fact that the media was the one doing all of the teasing and bullying against this group of people, it seemed normal to haze them and call it Freedom of Speech.  On September 23, 2012, satirist Carlos Latuff posted the political cartoon shown above.  In this cartoon, Latuff points out that the media allowed the bad mouthing towards Muslims but not towards other groups.  In the cartoon, it seems almost unholy to mock the Jewish religion when the cartoonist draws out an object that resembles their beliefs.

Muslim activists like Anjem Choudary, are constantly being slammed because they going against what the media posts and defend their religion. In one particular article, Choudary is allowed an opposing view to be published on USA Today’s newspaper. He explains why the Charlie Hebdo shooting may have happened. He mentions how the terrorist were fed up of the constant disrespect they received from the satirists from that publication company.  He mentions how it is a law in their religion to defend their prophet by any means.  Although I am not justifying the massacre, I would like to point out that people do get fed up of being looked down upon.

The media has the power to control what is being said, when the information gets to the public, and how it gets out to the public. They have the control in saying what is wrong and what is okay to look down upon. They have the power to influence their followers to do anything they want them to do. Australian journalist Liz Jackson wrote the article “Images of Islam in US Media and Their Educational Implications”.  In this article Jackson mentions a heart wrenching story about a young boy who is tried for the murder of another child of which he was play wrestling with. This young boy explained that he was only playing the same game that the people on television were playing.

There are many cases like this that link back to the media.  Yet, the media is constantly praised and suggested to be used amongst young children and their learning environment.  Muslims have not been the only victims of falsified stories created by the media.  More recent stories that have made headlines for weeks upon weeks, like the Ebola cases and how the entire human race could be wiped out within a matter of weeks.  Or even the police brutality cases in Missouri, New York, and Maryland. Because we will never be able to experience every story in person, the media will always have the advantage of tweaking them to their likings to simply… make more money.

I do not suggest that we cut off all use of media.  I simply want to raise awareness; you cannot believe everything you hear.