The Power of a word
And the consequences of silence
Palestine Children Relief Fund: here
Doctors Without Borders: here
A weapon is a tool used to harm others. There exist many variations of these tools. From sticks and stones to guns and bombs, our tools to kill one another have become more advanced, but the only tool we need for peace remains unchanged. Our voice is the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal, and any person can use it. However, the most accessible tool at our disposal has been seldom used in this past year.
Since the genocide in Gaza began, the response from our media has been embarrassing. In a war where thousands of innocents have had their lives taken away from them, they’re treated as another tally to the death toll. Journalists in the US have failed the people of Palestine, forcing them to take matters into their own hands. Hundreds, if not thousands of Palestinians have taken to social media, begging for their lives.
The words of journalists from major publications have failed at their standards to properly cover this genocide. On Nov. 1, over 230 members of the media signed a letter accusing the British Broadcasting Corporation of bias towards Israel in its coverage of Palestine. 101 of these signatories were anonymous employees of the publication. In the letter, BBC is asked to make several changes to their coverage, such as “reiterating that Israel does not give external journalists access to Gaza; making it clear when there is insufficient evidence to back up Israeli claims; making clear where Israel is the perpetrator in article headlines; including regular historical context predating October 2023; and robustly challenging Israeli government and military representatives in all interviews.”
BBC has denied these claims, stating it “strives to live up to our responsibility to deliver the most trusted and impartial news.” In a statement made on behalf of the BBC, they maintained that they have been transparent in their lack of access to Gaza and any mistakes made in reporting.
Anonymous staff insist that the BBC’s coverage is dishonest. Many are leaving because they cannot support the publication’s treatment of Palestine. In an article by The Independent, an anonymous source showed the perspective many employees who signed the letter feel.
“I have never, in my entire career, witnessed such low levels of staff confidence,” they said. “I have colleagues who have left the BBC in recent months because they just don’t believe our reporting on Israel and Palestine is honest. So many of us feel paralyzed by the levels of fear.”
Another states there is a ‘huge disparity’ between coverage for Israel and Palestine. The signatories of the letter to BBC cited several examples of misleading headlines.
An article about a six-year-old girl who was shot to death by the Israeli military was titled ‘Hind Rajab, 6, found dead in Gaza days after phone calls for help.’
“This was not an act of God,” an anonymous signatory said. “The perpetrator, Israel, should have been in the headline, and it should have been clear that she was killed.”
This issue with misleading headlines, whether on purpose or not, has been ongoing since the start of the genocide. The Intercept conducted a detailed report on coverage from many American publications during the first six weeks of the war. Collecting over 1,000 articles from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, the report conducted a search algorithm to identify keywords. The Intercept identified the relevant articles for this study by searching the three sites for content that contained ‘Palestinian,’ ‘Gaza,’ and ‘Israeli.’ They excluded any editorial or opinion pieces to get a true measure of the actual coverage. They read through these articles and tallied up the keywords that were used.
First, they found that as the Palestinian death toll drastically rose from Oct. 7 through Nov 25, 2023, the mention of Palestinians drastically declined.
Second, they found emotional words were more likely to be used to describe an Israeli death than a Palestinian. According to their data during the same period, these three publications were sixty times (60:1) more likely to use the word ‘slaughter’ to describe an Israeli death than a Palestinian. The word ‘horrific’ was 9.5 times (38:4) more likely to describe an Israeli death than a Palestinian.
Finally, the word ‘massacre’ was used 120 times to describe an Israeli death. To describe the death of Palestinians, it was only used four times.
This genocide has been one of the deadliest for children. In a report by Reuters (updated Oct. 1, 2024), Palestinian health authorities say that ground and air campaigns conducted by Israel have killed 41,500 people, with a significant portion being women and children. There has been little mention of this in the headlines from the articles included in the study by The Intercept. Only two of the headlines in the 1,100 relevant articles mentioned the death of children. The only exception was a front cover story for The New York Times on the death toll for women and children. However, this headline titled ‘Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace,’ featured neither group.
When journalists have given proper coverage in times of war, it has acted as a catalyst for rallying support for peace. The Vietnam War was the first war directly broadcasted to the people. This fueled anti-war sentiment across the nation. People were outraged at the destruction and lack of humanity present during one of history’s most brutal wars. This scarred those who witnessed it because viewers at home were transported to the frontlines when they turned on the TV.
‘The living-room war’ showed the people the atrocities of war. Whether it was disturbing footage of soldiers dying on the field to the massacre inflicted on innocent civilians, people rallied behind a common cause; to bring a ceasefire to this meaningless bloodshed.
Students protested by wearing black armbands in their schools, protesting on campus, and demanding that their government do better. This call to action was rooted in the work of journalists who risked everything to show the people the truth. In the end, this forced the government to respond to the will of the people.
American troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, months after the US signed the Paris Peace Accords in 1973. All this change came from the voices of those who prayed for peace in this world.
When journalism fails the people, the people become the journalists. On social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and anywhere they can spread their voice, Palestinian citizens in Gaza share videos where they’re begging for any support they can get.
One popular account @saiid_gaza.5 has had a significant presence on Instagram. Amassing over 64,000 followers since he took to social media, Saed Wael and his two younger sisters are stuck in Gaza. He has one goal; to get them out so ‘save their stolen smile.’
Saed Wael and his two younger sisters stand behind what was once their home. Wael has dedicated his waking hours to getting them the support they need so they can one day flee to a safer country.
@Abuthaher.family is another popular account that has amassed 203,400 followers and counting on TikTok. This family has lost their home and desperately needs support to stay alive. Behind each video, the ruins of what was once their livelihood can be seen. Despite losing everything, they have not lost their faith.
The Abuthaher family poses for a group photo. This is the life they hope to one day return to, but it will not be possible without your support.
These are just two of the hundreds, if not thousands, of accounts asking you for your help. Even if you can’t donate money to their fundraisers, all they ask is that you like, comment, and share.
I cannot foresee the power that my words can have on their own, but the words of a group focused on a collective good can move a mountain. I ask that we band together in support of those who have lost everything because of this genocide. I ask that you hear what they have to say when you see these videos on your for-you page. I ask that you demand better from publications that still have bias riddled throughout their coverage.
Your decision to remain silent or speak up is up to you, but reflect on how you would like to remember your actions during this time. Do you wish to have pride or regret, in what you did?
