US Media Finds Its Spine, Forgetting Its Lobbyist Backhoe
The question from Al Jazeera's 'The Take' is whether US media will 'name the crime' in Gaza, with over 66,000 alleged Palestinian deaths. Meanwhile, outlets like CNN and Fox News continue their rhetorical gymnastics, dutifully referring to 'the conflict' or 'the war between Israel and Hamas'—a framing that avoids inconvenient terms like 'occupation,' 'apartheid,' or 'systematic destruction.'
Forget naming the crime; they can't even name the elephant in the newsroom: the influence of entities like AIPAC, which poured $45 million into US elections in 2022 alone, often targeting candidates deemed insufficiently 'pro-Israel' (OpenSecrets.org). This isn't about journalistic integrity; it's about institutional memory loss and cash flow. When Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA)—who received over
$100,000 from pro-Israel groups in 2022 (OpenSecrets.org)—appears on your network to discuss 'regional stability,' expect stability of narrative, not facts. The US media's sudden concern for 'naming crimes' is commendable, provided it doesn't extend to the crimes of omission, historical erasure, or outright propaganda that a well-funded echo chamber can create. One might wonder, how many civilian
casualties does it take before 'conflict' becomes 'massacre' on primetime, or are we just waiting for the next focus group results?