When Speaking Truth Is News: Activists Join Palestine Protests
The irony isn't lost: a climate activist and a UN special rapporteur are newsworthy for simply aligning with widely documented human rights concerns. While mainstream outlets debate 'both sides' of an occupation, Albanese, as the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, has directly stated there are 'reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission
of genocide by Israel has been met.' (UN Human Rights Office, March 2024). Her presence isn't an 'opinion'; it's a confirmation of international legal observation. Meanwhile, the corporate media prefers to focus on 'activist' involvement, distancing the issue from its core. Yet, those same outlets rarely highlight the 600+ organizations and individuals receiving over $100 million in combined
funding from groups linked to the Israeli government and its allies to shape US public opinion. (OpenSecrets.org, 2023 filings). One might wonder why speaking for the suffering is 'news,' but speaking for immense geopolitical power is just 'foreign policy.'