By Alexander Wilson-
Alarm has been raised about extremist rhetoric from rightwing news networks and some elected Republicans after a Republican congressman compared Democrats to Nazis and a hard-right news host suggested tens of thousands of Americans should be executed.
Fox News’ right wing Tucker Carlson among Republican politicians has been highlighted for using racially charged connotations for attacking Democrats.
On his Fox News show on 24 June, Carlson in front of a screen with the words “anti-white mania”, stated that the US could “become Rwanda”, apparently referencing the 1994 genocide in the country, when hundreds of thousands of Tutsi people were slaughtered. Carlson has been accused of supporting sentiments associated with white supremacists, but has held his job in defiance of widespread calls for his resignation.
The scale and brutality of the genocide in Rwanda caused worldwide shock and condemnation, with no country intervening to forcefully stop the killings.[8] Most of the victims were killed in their own villages or towns, Hutu gangs searching out victims hiding in churches and school buildings. The militia murdered victims with machetes and rifles. Sexual violence was also rife, leading to an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 women raped during the genocide.
Carlson’s reference to Rwanda was very inappropriate and distasteful. It further damages the integrity and professionalism of Fox News that no known disciplinary action was taken.
Venomous words uttered with impunity by media representatives sets a bad precedent for the industry, enabling the easy integration of racists in the American media which easily encourages like minded media representatives in other parts of the world.
Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters described such rhetoric as widespread. He said: “The rhetoric is both intensifying and it’s more widespread. It’s not like this is the first time rightwing media has had moments or flare ups of intense or inflammatory rhetoric. But typically it would have been limited to one show or personality,” Angelo Carusone, the president of Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog.
“What you’ve seen is jockeying to get as much of that audience share but also influence share – everyone is kind of scrambling right now to grab as much as they can. That’s why they hit as many themes as they possibly can; you’re not just going to get more racial inflammatory rhetoric – there’s more conspiratorial stuff.”
The urgency to eradicate the presence of right wing members of the media couldn’t be any higher than in today’s world. Members of the media , like the police and politicians, have a duty to maintain high standards of conduct. More critically due to the position of influence they hold through a profession which must hold up standards of integrity, and play its role in advancing progressive thinking that unites more than divides.
Reputable media publications like The Guardian have expressed a desire to confront racism and extremism in the world’s media, by highlighting unacceptable conduct known to be inspired by racism, and pressuring media organizations to push for accountability in their ranks. The Eye Of Media.Com fully supports its commitments. Where such pressure fails to produce any meaningful action, there might be a case for taking the fight against extremism in the U.S media to the Federal Communications Commission which regulates interstate and international communications by radio, satellite and cable in all 50 states. The agency is directed by five commissioners who are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
America has always been and remains the greatest country on earth, a credit which must always be continually defined by its leadership in setting high standards for the rest of the world to see. Individuals in the media must be properly vetted for their ethical principles, just as much as they are in relation to their criminal past. Allowing sections of the media to fester in extremist conduct serves to pollute our world and the media profession with dangerous and amoral characters whose voices should never be heard in public.
Pearson Sharp, a host on the hard-right One America News Network (OANN), has also been sharply criticized for suggesting execution as an appropriate mechanism for dealing with the alleged ”tens of thousands” of people he accuses of meddling in the U.S 2020 elections, to prevent Trump from winning.
Robert Herring, the CEO of OANN, said: “He was only telling what [sic] could happen if you try to over throw America … He gave the laws that would apply.” The shock of recommending executions for election disputes over the authenticity of its process is unbelievable coming from
Brian Stelter, CNN’s chief media correspondent, has released a book which alleges Fox News’s pre-occupation with propaganda over legitimate news.
“People want to be lied to, and it’s above my head to know what to do about that,” Stelter said “What do we do about that, when millions of people want to be lied to every day?”
There might be a case for taking the fight against extremism in the U.S media to the Federal Communications Commission which regulates interstate and international communications by radio, satellite and cable in all 50 states.