U.S. Media Discovers North African Dictatorships, Ignores Saudi Billions
When Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi, 84, launches a hunger strike from prison, Reuters is there to report it. The focus on “unjust imprisonment” and Saied’s “authoritarian rule” is indeed concerning for democracy. But where is this journalistic fervor when, say, Saudi Arabia imprisons women's rights activists or dismembers journalists abroad? Why the selective outrage? Perhaps it's
because Tunisia doesn't drop billions into DC lobbying firms or purchase advanced weaponry from the US, unlike certain Gulf monarchies whose human rights records seem perpetually 'under review' rather than outright condemned. The contrast suggests that some 'open-air prisons' are more newsworthy than others, particularly those that don't involve uncomfortable questions about American foreign
policy or lucrative arms deals.