Amit Shukla’s Post

When there are errors in the mainstream media, they always seem to err in the same direction. I happened to see a news report that CNN over the weekend said that the four Israelis who were rescued by the IDF were instead "released" by Hamas. There is a distinct difference between rescuing hostages or having the enemy voluntarily releasing them. The latter expression would give credit to Hamas for a humanitarian gesture. The facts on the ground suggest that was never the case. Why CNN decided to use the expression "released" instead of "rescued" is a mystery it seems. But, to someone like myself, this kind of "error" is typical of what I expect from CNN. They have their narrative that Israel's invasion of Gaza is a humanitarian crisis, and hence the news is always slanted in order to make the IDF look bad. The idea that the IDF pulled off a daring and successful raid that actually accomplished its mission ran counter to that narrative. Hence, as usual with the left, the English language was twisted to mean something different than normal. Yes, the Israeli hostages were "released" from Hamas' grasp, but that is not a tribute to Hamas' generosity. Just one more example of fake news from an industry that seems dedicated to misinforming the public for ideological reasons.

The Ukrainian cross-border incursion into Russia is now in its sixth day, and we know a little more today than we did on Tuesday afternoon when the news first broke. As expected, there is now an overabundance of unverified information swirling around the various open-source platforms given the fluid nature of the situation. Sensationalist headlines and eye-catching social media posts have permeated our feeds, depending on what the AI-powered algorithm believes will appeal to us the most. To the best of our ability, we can analyze what we know, debunk some obvious myths, and speculate responsibly about the many gaps that continue to keep the picture somewhat incomplete or fuzzy. Through it all, we can try to offer our most engaging but well-informed take on what to expect next, while also maintaining realistic expectations among readers. The sheer irresponsibility of some journalists and pundits is striking, but not surprising. Big headlines, massive claims, albeit very limited evidence. There aren’t too many truly brilliant reporters and analysts who offer top-notch analysis with a caveat that the bits and pieces of info we possess at the moment is far from neatly verified content. This is where responsible analytical skills can come in handy. For now, we know what we know, and when it comes to the rest — we can speculate about the inevitable gaps that persist. Sometimes the question marks are just as useful—admitting that there are lingering unknowns is helpful analysis, too. Though some analysts and especially reporters can get caught up in their over-eagerness to outdo the next colleague and shed more light onto the darkness… or perhaps prove their support for Ukraine just by making grandiose statements when caution is presently critical. Splashy but unverified claims can also do some harm… There’s an old proverb that claims “happiness loves silence.” Perhaps it’s equally true that victory loves caution… We can wholeheartedly support Ukraine, but at the same time, sharing information responsibly is of vital importance. Speaking of some of the most brilliant analysts and writers out there, in the latest episode of his podcast #MoscowsShadows, Mark Galeotti discussed the widespread hunger to know what’s happening right now. The growing expectation that every journalist or analyst ought to offer near-definite answers and overly confident assertions 24/7 is simply not realistic… and, dare I sound redundant: irresponsible. While we’re on this topic, Mark’s podcast is a must: https://lnkd.in/eTDVzcJf Please research, write and share responsibly whenever and wherever possible. Especially when solid information is so scarcely available. #Ukraine #Russia #Kursk #geopolitics #information #media #news #journalism #analysis #research

This week I visited Brussels to talk at Difference Day as a speaker at the "AI and Press Freedom" panel. This yearly conference is organized in collaboration of 3 Belgium Universities to honour press freedom. There are results to share on GenAI for information resilience, and the stories about this along with stories about blackouts, glide bombs, and the attack on Kharkiv interested the visitors. Sharing experiences, facts and impressions is important. World Press Freedom Day was introduced by the UN more than 30 years ago, and this year it is dedicated to the work of media professionals in the face of the environmental crisis. I would like to devote more time to this topic, but the Russian attacks on Kharkiv region and the whole of Ukraine are shifting the focus of our attention. In Kharkiv, the main environmental problems remain mined land and the consequences of strikes on oil depots. Journalists in Ukraine continue to work under constant restrictions and danger, from blackouts to shelling. It is also worth mentioning the Russian attacks on hotels with journalists in Kharkiv and the recent destruction of a TV tower, which also affected the work of the media.

The language used to describe world events, especially by the media matter. I want to post more content I find critical in data and data-storytelling, especially when it helps me understand the nature of events happening in our world. The following is a powerful illustration of a Sentiment Analysis, on how western media has covered the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine:  created by the extraordinary Mona Chalabi (a Pulitzer Prize winning and Emmy-nominated illustrative data journalist).  https://lnkd.in/exC26CS6 In the word count data, Palestinians are only referred to more frequently in a few instances, most notably “killed” and “died”. This generates a narrative that, yes, shows tragedy (quantitatively), but simultaneously dehumanizes a significant number of victims and creates emotional distance for readers, who are not being asked to relate to these victims as, “mothers”, “fathers”, “sons”, “daughters”, “friends”, “colleagues”, “teachers”, “doctors”, “business people”, etc. Instead we simply see numbers that continue to climb, yet who these people are, is erased. In the grand scheme of things, mine is just another post in a chorus calling for a more critical examination of our western media diet. There is a lot more that can be unpacked from this analysis. The data analysis and visualization was conducted and created by Mona Chalabi (see more of her works at: https://lnkd.in/ePAybhHX). The scraping for this analysis was done by Jan Lietava (https://lnkd.in/eRYQteSD) and Dana Najjar (https://lnkd.in/eW6T3Sx5). Please check them all out, they do important work.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁? In this eye-opening session at 𝗦𝗝𝗙𝟮𝟰, Oumar Ba, a journalist from Weer Bi, will delve into the challenges of covering natural resource topics. He will share strategies for navigating this silence, emphasizing the importance of leveraging studies and reports from organizations working in the field when key experts refuse to speak. Join us to discover how to 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 and enhance your coverage of the extractive industries. Grab your ticket now and stay tuned for more updates! https://lnkd.in/dDNYMVD #SJF24 #ScienceJournalism #ExtractiveSector #InvestigativeReporting #NaturalResources

𝗨𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮—𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗱𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆’𝘀 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹’𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲? Last week, the new Asserson report was released about the BBC, addressing its bias in media coverage related to Israel, a topic that has troubled British media for decades: https://lnkd.in/gwkukTW9. Shortly after, my colleague Dr. Dave Rich from the British Community Security Trust (CST) published an article on Israel’s “always-critics,” denouncing biased attitudes in Western public debate: https://lnkd.in/g-uBk54b. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯-𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹𝗶 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁? Can we truly speak of a more comprehensive understanding of both sides, or do we see the same tendency toward oversimplification, lacking nuance, and most crucially, balance? To gain clarity on this, I briefly examined the work of a prominent and distinguished journalist, Martin Klingst. Klingst has long worked as a U.S. correspondent and political journalist at DIE ZEIT, a widely respected liberal publication in Germany, which is especially well-known among academics. Since October 7th, Klingst has written several pieces on Israel and the Middle East conflict. Just a few days ago, the journalist published an article addressing the “pager attacks” in Lebanon. In this article, I observed parallels to some of the critiques raised by Rich. [...] 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬. #DecodingAntisemitism #socialmedia #media #bias #hatespeech #Israel #Mideast #antisemitism #Zionism #holocaust #distortion #radicalisation #Discourse #Report #llms #ai #stopthehate

Every Friday, I send out a newsletter with key stories to know about Europe this week. And today's edition was packed: 🗞 If you thought a sovereign European country wouldn't give away one of its core competencies – policing – you were wrong. Hungary is to allow Chinese police personnel to patrol its streets. Why? It wants to exercise ideological control over its citizens abroad, as Özge Çakır-Somlyai reports. 🗞 The fate of Mariupol is truly outrageous. First brutally besieged by Russia, the Russian occupiers have now begone constructing apartment buildings throughout the city. Dennis van der Laan describes how attempt to "Russify" the city is a clear sign that Russia does not intend to ever return the city to Ukraine. 🗞 In an absurd data breach, you can now acquire Turkish people's data, including phone numbers, for just €4 on the internet. Yakup Can Y. reports on how he has already received anonymous calls from all over the world. Mia Jeronimus and I curate and edit the newsletter carefully to bring you the The European Correspondent's top stories – including those you wouldn't expect. Got curious? Sign up for the next edition by selecting "The Continent" here: https://lnkd.in/dwG5-E99

A must read essay by Pankaj Mishra on Gaza, decolonization, and the failures of journalism. “I could only watch helplessly as the most respectable parts of the Western press not only egged on a war based on fraud, but also helped heavily racialize it.” **** “Outrage grows explosively among the global majority as a western proxy in the Middle East demonstrates the ease with which black and brown bodies can still be seized, broken, and destroyed outside all norms and laws of war.” **** “Today, the war on terror is widely accepted as a military and geopolitical failure. But it is still not fully understood as a massive intellectual and moral fiasco: an attempt by the Western media as well as the political class to forge reality itself, which failed catastrophically, but not without embedding cruelty and mendacity deep and enduringly in public life. And partly because this disaster was unacknowledged—editors and writers pushing false narratives, and cheerleading large-scale violence, remained entrenched, and even received promotions—it is being reenacted today in the Western media’s coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza: another war that has ignited a bonfire of international legal and moral norms and deadened and perverted consciences.” Read the full essay here 👇🏽 https://lnkd.in/eYwk9bCJ #Gaza #Palestine #Lebanon #Yemen #Sudan

Facts matter, and although full objectivity is an illusion, that shouldn’t prevent us from striving to analyze the world around us using methods that help us question our own assumptions - which is ultimately what the “scientific method”, very broadly defined and variously adapted to different disciplines of enquiry, is all about. Of course, nobody can possibly pretend to have the time or inclination to do so in-depth for any given topic. Which is why the “media” are very important, but also why they should be closely scrutinized to understand *their* own assumptions. “In other words - in the week immediately following the most devastating and barbaric massacre that ever took place in Israel, while bodies were still being identified, there was an equal amount of criticism towards Israel and Hamas. From there - it only deteriorated. The clear subtext in these proportions is that Israel bears much more responsibility for everything. Specifically, it supposedly bears much more responsibility for the suffering of Palestinians than their elected government, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. This is a highly problematic message, which contradicts the declared position of The Times' editorial board, which repeatedly advocates for an independent Palestinian state. How can one demand more independence while ignoring the fact that the Palestinians used the disengagement, which was de facto Gaza's independence from Israel, in order to elect Hamas as a government, which is now not responsible for the current situation of its constituents?”