With the explosion of social media in recent years following the internet revolution, the major mass media outlets (radio and television stations) worldwide no longer have a monopoly on the information reaching the ears and minds of citizens worldwide. With Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and individual podcasts on YouTube, etc., one person can have hundreds, thousands, and even millions of “followers”. The genie is out of the box, so to speak, and things will never be the same again, where information to the public is concerned. And whereas previously we all felt that reports from CNN, NBC, BBC, CBS, etc. were gospel, many people are now tuning in to Al Jazeera and following podcasts on YouTube from Democracy Now! as well as reading articles and blogs by a number of independent writers and scholars for information on international issues. And as a nation, it is good for us to become more keenly aware of how information on the global scene could be manipulated for or against us as a people, especially in the light of our approaching destiny with the ICJ. Just like the food we consume could be unhealthy for us, some news sources can be pushing special agendas—thus the need to carefully navigate through them and stay alert to “pick sense from nonsense.”
Interestingly, the winner in the recent U.S. presidential election, whom his opponents had labeled a felon and liar, was among the first to draw national attention to the pervasiveness of “fake news”, as his defense against the plethora of accusations he faced. While the major mass media touted the election as one of the most hotly contested ones in modern times, the result was decisive. The Republican Trump received in 2024 just over a million more votes (75,581,082) than he did in 2020 (74,223,975) according to Wikipedia; meanwhile his Democrat opponent in 2024, Kamala Harris, whose campaign was heavily financed, received almost ten million fewer votes (71,708,435), than Joe Biden did in 2020 when he won with 81,284,666 votes.
There have been all kinds of explanations from the experts at the major American media houses; but in our old Belizean tradition, it appears that Trump was not necessarily voted in by American voters, but Harris (Biden) was voted out. The question is why.
After being relieved of the burden of the aging Biden and his unpopular “iron clad” stance on the genocide in Gaza, and following his disastrous debate with Trump, there was some relief and new energy inside the Democrats’ campaign behind new presidential candidate Kamala Harris; but the wind was soon knocked out of their sails, when she committed to maintain Biden’s “iron clad” stance, and frustration disintegrated into despair at their national convention when, despite protests, not a single pro-Palestinian speaker was allowed on stage, and the angry backlash was unleashed on November 5.
If the Democrats were listening to the major mass media in the U.S., it is understandable how they could have been fooled. Social media was on fire with the pain and anger of the American voters (many of whom were struggling to make ends meet) against the repeated announcements of billions being sent to Israel to bomb the helpless Palestinians, billions that represented their tax dollars, to kill thousands of innocent children and women and elderly in Gaza, even while the rest of the world and the United Nations condemned the genocide. Talk about the economy, and abortion, and climate change all they want; the student demonstrations on university campuses across the U.S. were real, and their repression by the police was reminiscent of the 1960’s anti-war fever against the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. The election result therefore seems to indicate a protest vote from those Democrat voters who could not bring themselves to vote for Harris (Biden), but would not vote for Trump.
The reality is that, as activist/educator Sandra Coye said on Krem WUB this morning, people all over the world are fed up with political leadership. And that might be a factor to consider at home, where, in the absence of a credible Opposition at this time, our current PUP government might be tempted toward complacency, and to ride roughshod over all dissident voices. Despite a super-majority in the House, and a string of landslide election victories in village council and town board elections, they may recall that elections in Belize have often been characterized by a focus on the office holders, and voters decide to put them back in, or vote them out, whatever be the credentials or competencies of the replacements. In that light, it is heartening to note that our government seems to be giving pause to acknowledge and value the input and opinions of voices from the community: case in point, responding to the protest from the hospital workers union to have their representative replaced on the board of the KHMH. Every voice counts, and it may be a sign of political maturity and good stewardship that they seem not inclined to make the mistake of taking silence from the electorate to mean enthusiastic support.
For those still not convinced of this very real phenomenon called “fake news” or twisted information, a very good case just occurred a couple days ago in Amsterdam, where some major news sources chose to wrap the facts completely with an Israeli bias, while others looked at the whole picture with greater balance, and fairness to the Palestinians.
It is relevant to us in Belize, because our story might one day be in the news.
The problem of fan hooliganism at football matches has long been a concern in Europe, but the media treatment of the recent Amsterdam incident is a revelation. Notably, nobody was killed.
Belizeans, read for yourself, and pick sense from nonsense. And remember the backdrop of this incident: daily bombings and killings in Gaza, while hundreds of Israeli fans traveled by airplane to Amsterdam to support their football team in a town with many resident and grieving Arab Palestinians.
The following are headlines from some “major news media” sources that you can Google:
—Haaretz | Israel News
www.haaretz.com, Nov 8, 2024
U.S. President Biden and Dutch King Condemn ‘Antisemitic’ Attack on Israeli Soccer Fans in Amsterdam
—CBC News – World
www.cbc.ca, Nov. 09, 2024
Dutch PM ‘ashamed’ by Amsterdam attacks on Israeli soccer fans
—CBS News
www.cbsnews.com, November 8, 2024
Israeli soccer fans attacked in Amsterdam, with 5 hospitalized and dozens of suspects arrested
—BBC News
www.bbc.com, Nov. 8, 2024
We must not turn blind eye to antisemitism, says Dutch king after attacks on Israeli football fans
—-CNN World/Europe
edition.cnn.com, Sat. Nov. 9, 2024
Amsterdam bans protests for three days following violent attacks on Israeli soccer fans
—NBC News
www.nbcnews.com, Nov. 8, 2024, 1:16 PM
Israeli soccer fans attacked in Amsterdam
—ALJAZEERA
www.aljazeera.com, 9 Nov 2024 05:19 AM (GMT)
Israeli football fans clash with protesters in Amsterdam
—The Associated Press
apnews.com, Nov. 8, 2024
Israeli soccer fans were attacked in Amsterdam. The violence was condemned as antisemitic
—The Star News
www.thestar.com.my, Sunday, 10 Nov 2024
The buildup to attacks on Israeli football supporters in Amsterdam
—ALJAZEERA
www.aljazeera.com, 10 Nov 2024
Israeli football fans, pro-Palestinians attacked in Amsterdam: What we know