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https://theconversation.com/why-legitimate-criticism-of-the-mainstream-media-is-in-danger-of-being-hijacked-by-anti-vax-and-freedom-movements-178166>
"One striking feature of the “freedom convoy” protests in Ottawa, Wellington
and elsewhere has been the intense antagonism towards “mainstream media” (MSM).
These antagonisms are expressed not only in now familiar descriptions of MSM
journalists as sinister agents of a wider power elite, coupled with pity or
scorn for the befuddled “sheeple” who believe everything they hear in the
media.
They can also take an uglier, more menacing form. Witness the clip circulating
on Twitter of protesters spitting on CTV journalists in Vancouver. Or earlier
reports of New Zealand journalists being “punched and belted with umbrellas” or
harassed in person and online.
These kinds of encounters are becoming more common. Increased violence against
journalists, particularly women journalists, has been a feature of the global
rise of far-right politics.
This anti-media rhetoric has a clear “us” versus “them” dynamic. People start
to define their own identities in opposition to the “MSM”. The media are framed
as enemies (one of a gallery of interchangeable enemies) in ways that destroy
the distinctions between journalism and propaganda, journalism and ideology,
journalism and politics.
This language is then normalised in far-right media channels, sometimes with
considerable success that might leave one wondering about the precise location
of the mainstream: a livestream broadcast from one Facebook channel linked to
the Wellington protests apparently had more views than the videos broadcast on
the New Zealand Herald’s website."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
