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In this age of non-stop news and instant messaging, militant extremists seem somewhat brand aware. Typically these groups are proud of that hard-guy image. But suicide bombings and beheadings could be bad for fundraising.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) wants media organizations to stop calling them “terrorists and extremists,” notes Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) (September 7). TTP is also known as Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of armed Islamists primarily operating along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Its main mission is fighting the Pakistani state. It has its own media outlet, Umar Studio, which has often released videos of suicide bombings. Once upon a time it had a Facebook page; no longer.
"Such labels on the TTP meant the media professionals were dishonest towards their duty and would create enemies for itself,” said TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani on social media, reported by newspaper Dawn (September 7). "Using such terms for TTP showed a partisan role of media and journalists,” He wants news media, instead, to use the group’s more formal name. (See more about news media here)
The Pakistan government banned the TTP in 2014 and ordered media outlets to refrain from “glorification of militants.” The TTP claimed responsibility for a suicide attack in Quetta, Pakistan (September 3) that killed three and injured 20 persons. The Afghan Taliban, in its victory march across the country, released from jail about 100 TTP militants.
Tensions continue to rise along the Polish border with Belarus. An emergency order by Polish authorities (September 2) has restricted access to an area surrounding the village of Usnarz Gorny occupied by refugees seeking to exit Belarus. Polish news media has been kept away, sparking criticism from media watchers.
It is generally believed that Belarusian authorities “encouraged” Afghan and Iraqi migrants to collect in Belarus, some reports suggest trafficed by the Belarusian government, with the intent of seeking asylum in the European Union. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) (September 6) estimated about 30 migrants are facing “dire conditions.” Lithuania and Latvia, which also border Belarus, have also tightened border controls.
Last Friday (September 3) news portal Onet reporter Bartlomiej Bublewicz with a camera operator made their way to the migrant encampment without interference from border guards. It was only after the news segment was broadcast did authorities order them to the police station, cited for “being in the area under the state of emergency and recording the border infrastructure.” Onet editor-in-chief Bartosz Weglarczyk had a few choice words: “I was a war correspondent for many years and never got such a ban. This prohibition serves only to prevent the public from knowing what is happening at the border.” (See more about media in Poland here)
“The media cannot report on the situation at the border, and the government does not intend to explain its actions in more detail,” wrote daily newspaper Dziennika Zachodniego chief editor Marek Twaróg in Press PL (September 6). “Particularly inquisitive journalists are accused, or propagandists are released on them, who cynically accuse them of not understanding the Polish raison d’etat.” (See more about news media here)
More accommodating to journalists, border city Bialystok is establishing a special editorial office for Belarusian media workers “who cannot operate in their own country for political reasons,“ reported Polish television news channel TVN24 (August 30). “I hope the journalists who will use the premises can work there for a free, democratic Belarus and that this work will bring positive results as soon as possible,” said Bialystok deputy president (mayor) Zbigniew Nikitorowicz. The city contracted Linking Media Foundation to organize use of municipal premises. (See more about media in Belarus here)
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage populations across the world, anti-vaccination protestors and related deniers - also known as know-nothings - voice their dismay at the reality bias of legitimate news organizations. Reporters and news crews have been threatened and attacked, typically behind the safety of social media and right-wing “free thinker” portals. The protestors, often, receive encouragement - tacit and otherwise - from politicians happy to appeal to this special voting base.
Anti-vaccination protestors stormed the headquarters of Slovenian public broadcaster RTV Slovenija (RTVS) last Friday evening (September 3), forcing entry to the newsroom studio. The organized group had gathered itself outside the building in a neighboring public park for several weeks demanding access to voice disagreement with coronavirus restrictions. Local police removed about two dozen maskless protestors from the building. (See more about Media and the Virus here)
On consultation with police officials, Ljubljana city authorities issued a ban on “all further gatherings of deniers of the new coronavirus who broke into the premises,” reported news agency STA (September 5). "We have also filed criminal charges against all those involved and we hope that the police will deal with you in all seriousness,” said RTVS General Manager Andrej Grah Whatmough during a meeting with employees. Discussions toward RTVS acquiring the park area from the city are being held to “enable the installation of a security fence.” (See more about media in Slovenia here)
The incident is "another serious reminder to all of us that due to some increased sensitivity, fatigue and irritability of the public, tolerance is slowly running out,” said Slovenian president Borut Pahor to RTV Slovenia (September 3), excusing the vandals. “People have different views on everything, including vaccination, we have the right to confess them in a peaceful way, and we also have a duty to refrain from any actions that are not in a democratic spirit, both verbal and physical.” Other Slovenian politicians blamed RTVS journalists for spreading “fake news” about the existence of the coronavirus and the efficacy of public health measures, extending Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s vitrol toward the public broadcaster. (See more about disinformation here)
“An attack on the public media is not just an attack on journalism, but an attack on the foundations of democracy," said the Slovenian Journalists' Association (DNS) in a statement (September 3). "We have been warning for a long time that hostility on social networks and incitement against journalists and the media we are witnessing can turn into physical violence, which turned out to be an attack on RTV Slovenia today."
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