I do not usually agree with President Trump but he seems to be completely correct: global media is rigged. I supported when Twitter banned him. But reading how the media is covering the Russia-Ukraine war and the way they covered the Arab Spring, Trump deserves apologies. Journalists are indeed humans and what they package as products of professionalism are colored with personal opinions and prejudices.
BBC reported how Russia is censoring it. Then Russian newspapers reported how Facebook, Twitter, etc are censoring them. Largely, everyone is censoring to ensure their citizens remain in order.
Vladimir Putin has blocked social media sites, Facebook and Twitter, as the war between Russia and Ukraine enters a new phase.
Both the EU and the UK have warned social media companies not to allow Russia to use their platforms to spread propaganda, prompting Facebook and others to ban state media outlets Sputnik and RT.
The Russian media watchdog accused Facebook of censorship and ‘discrimination towards Russian media’ after Instagram joined in banning the Russian news outlets.
It is only Africa that allows global media to shape its future. That has to change.
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I did an experiment today. I used Google translator to read some Russian newspapers. The conclusion from those websites was evident: US-based digital platforms are censoring Russian perspectives; Facebook has taken down many Russian media outlets. Then I went to BBC; and noticed how it reported that the Russian government has largely banned it. So, Russia censors and America also censors! 1-1.
Yes, Facebook, Twitter, etc receive heat to censor what the public does not want to see. And that got me to a conclusion: Africa is making terrible mistakes by allowing every junk news to get to our airwaves and digital ecosystems. And I seem to now agree with Trump that the media empires are not fair and balanced.
Please next time you read that Chinese digital platforms are censoring content, do not think that China is doing anything that is not done in the US. The real issue here is that everything has open doors to Africa; that has to change.
Comments on LinkedIn Feed
Comment 1: To control the people in any society, just take hold of the education sector and media, you can add religion into the basket, then you can control the people like herds.
When most people tell you they are speaking their opinions, it’s not really their opinions they voicing, rather they are under the influence of those who own them.
The man Trump unpacked many things people had been believing to be real, and majority of the people roaming the face of the earth hated him for that, because when you were brought up with lies that seemed like truths, anyone telling you otherwise is obviously the enemy.
They told you he’s racist, and you believed them; they told you he would cause wars, you believed them; they told you he was incompetent and couldn’t lead, and you believed them; they told you that Russia made him the POTUS and he’s Putin’s puppet, and you believed. They told you many things, and you thought you were listening to the real people with any dose of knowledge or wisdom, and you kept believing.
Now the peacemakers are causing wars, those who call others liars have lived their entire lives lying, but they belong to the privileged class, they own the media and education sector.
Keep believing nonsense, we shall see.
Comment 2: African leaders will learn to use this wisely when they are strategic and strong enough to stand for their geopolitical interests. Right now, taking foreign trips and begging for more loans (while sitting on important human and natural resources) will do just fine.
People who removed history subject from school teachings are not ready to leverage the agenda-setting function of the mass media. This is what is at play everywhere.
What we think about, how we think about them and what importance we place on them, are largely based on what is packaged and shared by powerful media organisations.
That’s conditioning, and as Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe stated, personal/group interests are usually fiercely woven into these reports. Most times, forming an opinion on a particular depends on who you listen to. Notice how the Ukraine Crisis has displaced covid-19 in most social conversations?
Comment 3: More respects for Channels.Just watch Seun get big shots to open up and come charging back at him..The truth shall set us free. We must teach our kids to critically think for themselves. Analyse the data individually and as a team (which is able to spot more pitfalls,using its different eye views) ,and then draw the most logical conclusion or inference .
Comment 4: Why make a statement at all about this? Trump deserves no such apology and Russia enacted a new law that prohibited any narrative other than the one created by the Kremlin – violators face incarceration. Russian newspapers are free to report whatever they like with no such threats against them.
And I beg your pardon about African media – African media is no different than any other. They shape their own narrative. They are beholden only to the governmental forces under which they are governed.
My Response to #4: please take time and use Google Translator to read some European newspapers. Some said that refugees were evils in the past. But today, refuges are heroes. They ought to have told us that refugees from Africa were evil or Arab nation refugees were so without hiding the real deal.
We’ve been conditioned to think that China censors even when Facebook, Twitter, etc do the same thing. How do you defend that YouTube took down some news channels? Is that not censoring?
Comment 5: 1..Poland said refugees from Europe are ok and so says some eu countries, but then the refugees from middles east and other African countries can’t be accepted as the definition of refugee at the moment doesn’t apply …that is double standard
2..many European journalism stated this incident in Ukraine should rather be happening in places like Africa or middle east rather than an European country ..uhmm they forgot history never lies as Europe Is regularly in war
3..if Nigeria senate can copy Singapore rules to be incorporated into Nigerian system then one is not even sure if we are Nigerians or Singaporean
In a simple way. The MSM is rotten to the core and it’s an instrument use by a few to shape things in their favor and it’s so pathetic that we humans are always so sentimental to situations rather than logically analysing the situation properly..
Trump should be given credit in some quarters
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This is something that I have realized for far too long and I took time to observe it. My father used to buy too many news papers and magazines those and i asked him why? He simply told me that the reason is to pool together diverse perspectives and truth lost to censorship coz of interests.