NEW ROSS, Ireland - Traveling the world as I have this summer exposed not only different opinions about major issues, but also a difference in how journalists in free countries and propagandists in unfree ones report them.
Sadly, much of the journalism in free countries is too often behaving like propagandists in unfree countries. The result is that people who consume "news" that tends to reflect one point of view now accept that point of view as their own. They reject, sometimes strongly, a different point of view and information that counters theirs.
At the Kennedy Summer School I found this to be true. While an audience was receptive and seemingly appreciative of my appearance, when the time for questions came around things took a different turn. One question was about Gaza and Israel's "genocide." As I explained the history of Israel and the numerous attempts to eradicate the Jewish people as far back as the events described in the Old Testament book of Esther, the booing began. They didn't want to hear it. Their minds had been made up, apparently from watching RTE, BBC, Sky News and reading the liberal Irish Times and The Guardian newspapers.
It's the same with "climate change." The TV networks interview only those who believe it and no one who has any contrary opinion and information to support it. "Reporting" one side of an issue is what propagandists do.
Back to Gaza.
The recent Israeli attack on a building reportedly containing a device that tracked the movements of Israeli troops resulted in the deaths of several journalists and others who declared themselves journalists. The media and media organizations condemned the attack. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he "deeply regrets the tragic mishap that occurred today at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza," adding that Israel "values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians" and that the military was conducting a "thorough investigation."
The media regularly ignore that Hamas hides inside hospitals, schools and other civilian locations so when Israel goes after those targets - even warning people in advance to get out - civilians are sometimes killed to the propaganda advantage of the terrorists.
Palestinian Media Watch founder Itamar Marcus writes in the Jerusalem Post: "One of the shocking phenomena of the Israel-Hamas War is that all of the journalists are reporting the same Hamas lies and propaganda so that there's only one story coming out of Gaza.
"The foreign media is uniformly blaming Israel for the so-called starvation in Gaza and following Hamas' propaganda strategy, often broadcasting completely fictitious images. The impact on Israel's image in the world has been terrible, with polls showing that even American support for Israel is eroding."
The propaganda war is important because it shapes public opinion. Public opinion is important because it influences governments (except in totalitarian states where polls are rarely taken and only a singular point of view from the dictators is fed to the masses).
I wish I could have questioned those booing at The Kennedy School. Do they know that Hamas and other terror groups believe they have a religious mandate to eliminate Israel and kill Jews? Can they name the river and the sea that U.S. protesters chant when demonstrating for Hamas and the people in Gaza, suggesting they are on the side of those who seek Israel's eradication? What do they read and watch?
Booing a speaker is the equivalent of putting both hands over your ears, resulting in a one-dimensional mindset brought to you by a one-sided media that no longer qualifies as journalism.
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