In defense of life and the right to communication in Palestine: Ceasefire now!
Five months after the start of the genocide in Palestine, the death toll has surpassed 30.000; approximately 70% of those killed were women or children. Nearly 1,5 million people are displaced in the southern Gaza Strip, a territory initially designated as “safe” by Israeli forces but now also under siege. There, and throughout Palestine, hunger threatens the lives of those who manage to survive the constant bombing. This tragedy is also unfolding in the field of media. According to the International Federation of Journalists, more than 100 Palestinian media workers have been killed in the last five months. Thirteen women journalists have already lost their lives in Gaza, along with four Israeli and three Lebanese journalists. Therefore, on March 8th, the federation is calling for safety and an end to the atrocities of war, including all forms of gender-based violence against women.
The murder of journalists and media workers is also one of the ways to prevent access to information about what is happening. It is, therefore, a violation of the right to communication, the right to receive and circulate information, which is fundamental to democratic life. Another way to attack journalistic work is through the persecution of professionals: according to data from the Committee to Protect Journalists [1]In 2023, 17 media workers were arrested, which earned Israel a place for the first time in history among the countries that imprison the most journalists in the world.
The work of journalists is also restricted by Israel through access controls to the targeted region. While this strategy predates October 2023, it has been severely tightened. Numerous journalists' organizations, such as Reporters Without Borders, have denounced the situation.[2]Recently, 50 British and American television workers wrote to the Israeli and Egyptian governments demanding "free and unhindered access" to Gaza for foreign media.[3], highlighting the contradictions surrounding journalistic work and the importance of autonomy, in the terrible context of the Israeli army's attack on starving people seeking food in a supposedly safe area.
We are witnessing, therefore, yet another chapter in a story that, through the press and other spaces of symbolic production, such as school books, promotes a symbolic battle that uses dehumanization, manipulation and disinformation to enable the extermination of the Palestinian people.
This entire siege, erected through diverse forms of violence, serves the media manipulation operation of Israel and its allies to prevent the world from learning about the genocide against the Palestinian people. The hegemonic media, subservient to capitalist interests, are unified in their defense of the Zionist state and its colonization project. Justifications are repeated at every turn, even constructing narratives designed to cast doubt on the origin of the killings and destruction in Gaza. Even US President Joe Biden questioned the death toll provided by the Gaza Strip's Ministry of Health, which the press always refers to as "controlled by Hamas," as a way of undermining its credibility. These same media outlets exclude Palestinian voices from the news.
This policy, which we have known since the 20th century, has been reinforced in a context where digital platforms are playing a leading role in the circulation and visibility of information. In this regard, there have been frequent reports of account suspensions and restrictions imposed on the publication of content about Palestine. Human rights organizations denounce this.[4] the discriminatory use of content moderation mechanisms that generate a "blackout" in relation to information, speeches and opinions published in defense of the rights of the attacked population.
Technology companies are under intense scrutiny and criticism for producing information and communication technologies in general, and artificial intelligence in particular, as tools for genocide. In response, initiatives like No Tech For Apartheid, driven by Google and Amazon employees, have been denouncing for over two years the use of these technologies to enable apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and colonialism, within the framework of projects like Nimbus.[5].
However, the very interactive dynamics of these platforms highlight the centrality of the movements and collectives that produce grassroots communication. Thus, while mainstream media insist on dehumanizing and delegitimizing, it is journalists and communicators who, through social media, show not only the images of destruction but also the life stories that are being silenced.
From the CLACSO Working Group on the Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture We join the International Federation of Journalists in their demands on this March 8th, International Women's Day, and reiterate all calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We understand that what is happening there is both a historical process of colonization and oppression, and a sign of the current capitalist crisis, which uses the most brutal violence to impose its interests. In the face of this, we reaffirm the sovereignty of peoples, solidarity, and the desire for societal transformation. For us, all of this demonstrates the fundamental role of communication studies, which can contribute not only to understanding but also to transforming this reality through critical thought and action.
[1] Available: https://oglobo.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2024/01/18/israel-entra-na-lista-de-paises-que-mais-prendem-jornalistas-pela-primeira-vez-na-historia-veja-ranking.ghtml
[2] https://www.rsf-es.org/palestina-israel-asfixia-al-periodismo-en-gaza/
[3] Available: https://www.rfi.fr/br/mundo/20240228-jornalistas-brit%C3%A2nicos-e-americanos-pedem-que-israel-libere-acesso-da-imprensa-internacional-a-gaza
[4] https://www.amnesty.org/es/latest/news/2023/10/global-social-media-companies-must-step-up-crisis-response-on-israel-palestine-as-online-hate-and-censorship-proliferate/
[5] https://www.notechforapartheid.com/
March 18th 2024
CLACSO Working Group
Political Economy of Information, Communication and Culture
This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
