Thanks to the internet, News is more accessible and immediate. The way journalists report about refugees in media can shape the thoughts of the readership and influence their political identities. Social media also plays a huge role in our political stance, with Twitter being particularly useful at bridging the geographical and socio-economic gaps, enabling fluid communication.
BBC News.
The BBC are supposed to report in an unbiased way due to being funded by the public, therefore, they often report on the crisis as a matter of geographical, economic, political and statistical information. While useful, this type of reporting dehumanises the refugees.
Technical jargon also dehumanises what is being reported. For example, ‘unaccompanied minors’ does not consider that a child may have become an orphan through war, nor does it consider their vulnerability from traffickers and rapists. ‘Collateral damage’ is a euphemism used in televised news and in the forces, which has less impact than ‘the accidental killing of innocent people’.
When we search for the news online, knowing that the BBC avoid sensationalism is an incentive for choosing their website over others when we want information. When we read about the displaced Syrians, the BBC coverage includes some reports of how Syrian people have been affected, but generally they focus on phenomena, with illustrative graphs and maps. When we think of the crisis as a matter of statistics, it creates a sense of distance between the refugees and the readers. We are aware of what is happening because it is in the news, but we don’t feel an urgency to help them on a personal level.
Provoking an emotive response.
Some tabloid news outlets like the the Daily Express, the Daily Mail and the Sun report on the crisis in a way that is implicit racism. They use sensationalist language and project controversial opinions to provoke a reaction from their readers.
Provocative articles about immigrants, migrants and refugees in media are dangerous. Many readers believe the last opinion that they read and regurgitate it as their own. They use these extreme ideas to justify why their own lives are lacking and problematic.
This poisonous ideology spreads hatred and racism. The Daily Mail described the refugees as ‘a swarm on our streets’, suggesting the same invasive nature and large number as ‘a swarm of bees’. The Express’ front page claimed that ‘MIGRANTS TAKE ALL JOBS’. The tabloids use ‘immigrants’ and ‘migrants’ frequently, which suggests that they are actively making the decision to pervade our lives. Broadsheets prefer the term ‘refugees’, remembering that they are victims of terror and fleeing in order to live. There is a difference between immigrants, illegal immigrants, migrants and refugees, yet they seem to get blurred together.
Tabloids are notorious for using discriminatory language towards refugees, migrants and other minority groups. However, it’s important to realise that not all tabloid journalists necessarily hold those views, regardless of the stories they write. The financial incentive to produce negative articles is the most compelling argument as to why they continue to produce these stories, rather than the politics behind the stories. This is shown through contradictory positions depending on what the readers are likely to search for.
Resisting hatred.
To stop news outlets discriminating against refugees, the Stop Funding Hate campaign is targeting big brands such as John Lewis and Marks & Spencer. These brands advertise with newspapers that report on refugees and migrants in a contentious manner. The campaign highlighted the fact that Lego’s morals did not match those of the Daily Mail. The Daily Mail report on refugees with contempt, while Lego supposedly helps to break down boundaries of social construct, i.e. gender, race. Many Twitter users backed the campaign through retweets, while parents and Lego customers tweeted their disappointment to Lego. This ultimately led to Lego terminating their contract with the Daily Mail due to the Stop Funding Hate campaign.
Stop Funding Hate also noticed that M&S were advertising with the Daily Express, who were reporting that EU migrant mothers were a drain on the NHS. This has lead to a campaign for M&S to stop advertising with the Express, with many twitter users saying that they are boycotting M&S as they have/are migrant mothers. Regardless of whether the article is real or exaggerated, the problem is that it offended many people, because many people in England are/have mothers who are EU migrants.
Eliciting empathy from the reader.
Articles in favour of refugees often use emotive photos of children, telling us how a child has been directly affected. When charities raise awareness about mass poverty, they are more successful when they show the hardships of an individual. This moves the audience, making them feel as though they have connected with the individual on a personal level.
A lot of content on refugees in media causes the reader to fear the refugees. This has a political effect, as the public sphere tell the government not to bring refugees into our country. After seeing this view repeated so frequently, it can start to smother your own personal beliefs. For this reason, it’s refreshing to see a different portrayal of refugees in media.
Amnesty International avoid the exaggerations of the anti-refugee reporters. They even provide a solution to the crisis. They write about the refugees in a way that almost seems like a videogame quest; we are the heroes to complete it, if we are up to the task.
“Right now, record numbers of people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes. But instead of showing true leadership and protecting refugees, most countries are slamming their doors shut.
History will judge us by how we tackled the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. This is our moment to defend the things that unite us as human beings, and refuse to let fear and prejudice win.” -Amnesty International.
While comparing their statement to a videogame trivialises the refugee crisis, the way that they have written it is genius. While negatively reporting about refugees in media fuels the indignation of the self-righteous, Amnesty International are targeting the egos of their audience from a different angle.
Twitter on refugees.
Debating on Twitter is an easy way of masquerading as a knowledgeable person. The 140 character restriction normalises elusive and vague comments, with only a link to back up what we say. So what sort of snippet discussions does this lead to? There are plenty of cheap shots, not expecting a response but trying to establish some kind of self-righteous dominance.
Gary Lineker has posted a few tweets in support of the refugees and condemning those who refute them. In response, he has received a lot of tweets mocking him and telling him to donate his fortune.
@DelDiablo007 tweeted @GaryLineker asking him
@GaryLineker what champagne you having with the refugee in your home tonight, Gary?
— Don Vibes ? (@DelDiablo007) January 2, 2017
This sort of teasing stems from the tweeter trying to prove a point of: if he cares so much, why hasn’t he given up all his money/home to help them? What @DelDiablo007 perhaps hasn’t considered is that the governmental scheme is to try and home the refugees in available housing and through volunteers homing the refugees.
When @Weeto_boy stood up for Gary Lineker, @GaryMontz then asked:
@Weeto_boy @TheAkshayVara @GaryLineker @DelDiablo007 where will they live then Andy? Will you pay for their food, shelter? Give up your job?
— Gary (@GaryMontz) January 2, 2017
This implies that refugees are usurpers, ready and qualified to take any job they desire. As the argument continues, it seems that, the arguments against Gary’s political stance are often petty and ignorant.
Credibility.
This isn’t always the case for anti-refugee rhetoric. Tommy Robinson*, co-founder of the English Defence League, campaigns to prevent the Islamification (anti-refugee as a byproduct) of the UK. Since advancing from the EDL to Pegida, he backs up his campaign with evidence from statistics and news articles, giving more credibility to what he is saying than during his EDL reign. Therefore, regardless of your political alignment, you can ‘understand’ the case he is making. Even if you disagree with his primitive message, he is making a coherent argument (by Twitter standards). However, it also seems that in order for one group to establish their superiority over others, they find the most bonkers extremists which are not the voice for all others within that group! All political alignments are guilty of this.
When people like Tommy Robinson and his fans slam Muslims for being a threat to women or criminals, it is hypocritical. Tommy Robinson has a criminal record that consists of violence to a police officer (not so patriotic), fraudulent use of a passport to enter another country (also known as being an illegal immigrant), mortgage-fraud and more violence. The police officer he attacked was present to stop a ‘domestic incident’ between Tommy and his then-partner, Jenna Vowles. So who is he to tell us Muslims are bad because some of them have committed crimes?
*His real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon…or Paul Harris. Tommy Robinson is an alias, in tribute to a football hooligan.
For a clearer idea of the EDL, here is an interesting report on whether they pose a threat to society… (Yes, they do). Professor Nigel Copsey described the EDL as an organisation “whose main aim is to increase tension, raise hate and increase community division by the use of intimidating tactics”
Refugees on Twitter.
Fortunately, Twitter is not just for the far-right or trolls. Citizen journalists have given us an insight into the reality of the crisis.
Bana Alabed is 7 years old. She tweeted through the Aleppo siege and she continues to tweet in order to help as much as she possibly can. Her mother Fatemah‘s bio states that “Together we can change the world for better”. Through their Twitter profiles, they have managed to gain attention to find a cardiologist for a mother in Syria. We have seen videos of Bana singing amongst the destruction in Aleppo and giving speeches. While it is worrying to see such a young child on Twitter, how else can they make the Western world care, if not through social media and entertainment? They have even started #EndSyriawar in an attempt to raise awareness to world leaders.
No more bombing.. I have 20 days of peace in my life. I thought the world was just like Aleppo & bombing was normal pic.twitter.com/sBx1jwRpIe
— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) January 14, 2017
Doctors Without Borders also tweet about the reality of the conditions and difficulties the refugees face. They have various Twitter accounts and the following video was tweeted by their MSF Sea account, which communicates their experiences in the Mediterranean Sea.
BREAKING: Another rescue just completed by #Aquarius under very challenging conditions. Desperate people in water but all pulled to safety pic.twitter.com/c081IwRavh
— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) January 3, 2017
‘Free Syria Media Hub’, is another Twitter account that communicates information from Syria as a way of raising awareness in the Western world. They mainly use pictures to get their message across as we responsive visually than to emotive language. Majed Majidy is a Syrian journalist who posts information and photos to spread awareness of the level of devastation.
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT BELOW.
— Free Syria Media Hub (@Free_Media_Hub) January 22, 2017
.#Iran regime's support of Assad is d main element of crisis in d region #IranOutOfSyria #UNSC #terrorism pic.twitter.com/JM1Xyvk73v
— Majed Majidy (@MajedMajidy) January 20, 2017
Twitter provides a platform which enables us to see the reality and responses of the refugee crisis on a global scale. Regardless of our message, it enables us to share it. It provides access to photos which prove the devastation people are suffering, and makes it harder for people to get away with wrongdoing. Its interactive nature proves useful when raising awareness about charities and organisations because we are actively engaged with the content, rather than a passive spectator to televised news or adverts.
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