How the Media is Disincentivizing Democracy and Modernity
Christians under attack, and the rabbi calling on the world to wake up
It might be the single biggest story the media is ignoring.
By turning a blind eye, the news industry is helping Islamist terrorists continue to behead Christians in churches, with no global repercussions. It’s also pushing nations to avoid democratization and modernization. On the new episode of They Stand Corrected, I explain the practical, simple, and pathetic reason this is happening.
At a time when we need the media to fight for democracy, it’s doing the opposite.
The moral of the story for nations everywhere is: If you go democratic and modern, then reporters will come and make you look terrible to the entire world. But if you avoid democracy and crucial aspects of modernity, then the world won't pay attention to what you're doing. This is not an opinion; it's a fact. In this way, the media is punishing democracies.
The pragmatic reason for media silence
In December, I told you about the media ignoring the plight of Christians in Africa. Since then, Christian groups have reported on new atrocities. In this episode, I take you to Lubero in the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Islamists massacre 70 Congo Christians and leave headless corpses in church,” the Catholic Herald reported. The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church confirmed this, Vatican News said.
On CBN (the Christian Broadcasting Network), host Raj Nair said, “If you were to replace 70 Congolese Christians with 70 Palestinians were beheaded, 70 people at a pride parade were beheaded, this would be the biggest news story of the decade. And yet this just happened and no one's reporting on it.”
Dexter Van Zile, former Peace Corps volunteer and now a managing editor of the Middle East Forum, agreed. “If the IDF were responsible for these beheadings, it would have made the front page of the Washington Post and the New York Times and every newspaper throughout the world.” (And, of course, Israeli Jews would condemn it, he added.)
So why aren't we hearing about it? There's the obvious bigotry and obsession with antisemitic “big bad Israel” narratives. But there's also something very pragmatic: few journalists travel to the region. “The Congo is a huge, dangerous place to be a reporter,” Dexter noted. “It's kind of desolate. If you go there, there's a very good chance you're going to get very sick and you may not get good medical care. Go to Israel, you can have a nice meal at a restaurant in Jerusalem after you've covered a protest at the security barrier.”
Modern democracies offer protections and comforts. So journalists go there en masse — and then obsess over every accusation.
In this episode, you’ll also hear a Nigerian journalist describe to CBN the latest terrorist tactics in the country, where tens of thousands of Christians have been killed by Islamist terrorists since 2009.
The rabbi speaking out
When I went looking for videos about the recent attacks, virtually nothing turned up from major news agencies. Instead, along with CBN, there was this excellent post from South Africa’s Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein.
You know what his video sounds a lot like? A news report. Non-journalists are stepping up where the media is failing. And the slaughters continue while the media looks away.
Two more newsletters I recommend. Thanks to sponsored partnerships, if you sign up today with these unique links, you’ll help support They Stand Corrected: USA Facts and The Portion.