Warmongering and violence pornography

     As a journalist, I have always detested generalizing approaches. This much is true: A large part of the “Western media” views Israel’s recklessness in Gaza—targeting unarmed, innocent people, including children, with bombs—as a supposed “right to defense,” and reports it as such. They mostly avoid showing Israel as the perpetrator.

     Reuters concealed Israel’s responsibility in its reports on the bombing of the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital and the killing of a cameraman by failing to mention who was responsible. The bombing of the hospital was striking, coming after BBC reports claiming Hamas had built tunnels under hospitals and schools. DW’s article, “Which actions are considered war crimes,” legitimized Israel’s violence against civilians. There are many such examples…

    But of course, there were also publications in the Western media that adhered to journalistic principles, did not shy away from using language favoring the victim, and questioned Israel’s disproportionate violence. However, when the mainstream media in Turkey quotes news from the US and European media, it unfortunately does not sufficiently convey these positive examples. All media organizations there are painted with the same brush. 

     Even in the call by 500 journalists from Turkey to “Stop the Israeli genocide,” a sweeping approach was used, arguing that “pro-Israel global advertising companies have taken control of the Western media.” It is true that Israel spends large sums of money for this purpose. Liberation confirmed that Israel has spent 4.6 million dollars on social media propaganda in France alone since October 7. But even this money is not enough for them to achieve the results they want, as former Israeli Prime Minister Lapid gives statements along the lines of, “If the international media is objective, it serves Hamas.” 

    Because, from time to time, journalism that would disturb Israel is also being done, such as the New York Times’ analysis that the rocket fired at the hospital in Gaza was launched by Israel. There are other examples as well. Le Monde, which blamed Hamas for the hospital bombing, admitted its mistake two days later; it announced that it would publish information coming from Gaza by specifying its source. The BBC, which characterized pro-Palestinian demonstrations as “support for Hamas,” later apologized for its news language. On CNN, Christiane Amanpour reported in detail that the wife, son, and many members of the family of Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent were killed as a result of Israeli bombardment. The Haaretz newspaper in Israel continues to publish reports blaming Netanyahu.

    Then there is the other side of the coin; if the “Western media” is doing bad journalism, is the mainstream media in Turkey doing so well? I don’t think so. There are those in our media who engage in warmongering and hate speech; those who take violence pornography to the peak and turn the war into a spectacle.

    Yeni Şafak and Yeni Akit do not look at those who are subjected to violence in Gaza and displaced from their homes as human beings, but as the “Ummah”; they have been warmongering for days by running headlines and publishing articles calling for the “establishment of an Islamic Army.”

    Bloody photos and corpse photos coming from Gaza are used in the Turkish media without any filtering. In fact, photos of babies and children with their faces exposed are published, ignoring journalistic principles and the traumatic effects they will have on people, especially children. The warnings of experts that “War has damaged our mental health” are ignored; bloody images are also shared on social media with captions like “Watch if you have the heart.”

     Journalists reporting on death and destruction in the war are not in Gaza, but on the Israeli side of the border. As if the war activity were not enough, some reporters strive to turn news reporting into a show. While Fulya Öztürk from CNN Türk excitedly described a rocket falling near her while putting on a show, Osman Terkan from NTV, just a few meters away, was doing cool-headed reporting.

    In any case, the mainstream media has almost completely closed itself off to news outside of Gaza