O’Reilly: Back from Vacation, Still Hating Muslims
Bill O’Reilly uses the horrible Boko Haram kidnappings to launch into yet another tirade against Muslims.
Has Everyone Without an Honorary Degree From Brandeis Been Censored?
In a USA Today op-ed, Fox News liberal Kirsten Powers weighs in on Brandeis University’s decision to rescind its offer to honor the anti-Muslim activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali during commencement activities.
On Homeland, Islam Means Terror
Homeland’s key plot themes are the infiltration of the US administration by Muslim extremists (a nod to Islamophobic conspiracy theories); suspicion of ordinary Muslim Americans, especially converts; and the psychological turmoil of the leading Muslim character, who is caught between his all-American family and the pull of extremist indoctrination.
Domestic Terror Story Gets Media Cold Shoulder—Guess Why
It’s hard not to think back on previous undercovered terrorism stories and conclude that if suspects in this story were Muslims, and their alleged targets Christians or Jews, it would have dominated our media world for the past several months.
Beck: Media Shocked to Find He Isn’t ‘Anti-Gay, Racist Nutjob’
“I played a role…in helping tear the country apart,” Glenn Beck says. Indeed–not just from his time at Fox, but from years of talk radio broadcasts, and a stint at CNN’s Headline News–not to mention his work at his current outlet, The Blaze.
Little Coverage of the Wrong Sort of Terror
US journalists have a hard time knowing what to do with terrorism stories when the culprits are not Muslim, even though, in their own country, the vast majority of terrorism is carried out by non-Muslims.
NYT Columnist: You Can’t Trust Shiites
New York Times columnist Roger Cohen offered some reasons to be skeptical of what we’re hearing from Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. He is, after all, Muslim.
A Media Microscope on Islam-Linked Violence
Is Islam, as Kristof, Maher and O’Reilly suggest, really particularly violent? It’s a curious argument to make from the vantage point of the United States, which has in recent years launched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and lesser military strikes in at least a half-a-dozen other nations—violence that has cost at least hundreds of thousands of lives over the past decade.
The Rolling Stone Cover and the ‘New Ideological Threat’
The cover of Rolling Stone (8/13), featuring a self-portrait of Dzhokhar Tsaernav taken weeks before the Boston bombing, has fueled a strong backlash. Discussing the cover, Fox News‘ Lisa Daftari (7/18/13) said: In the aftermath of 9/11, if you look back over a decade ago, this country had an awakening, an understanding, that we have […]
David Brooks Applies His Mental Equipment to the Egypt Coup
David Brooks lacks the mental equipment for informed, nuanced commentary on the politics of a Middle Eastern society.
‘Terror Returns’—Along With Media Fixations
The Boston bombings came to be understood as a return of 9/11—not in the scope of the attacks or the cost in innocent lives, but as a reminder of a certain type of danger.
Killing Civilians Is More Popular Than You’d Think—Especially Among Pundits
Where do Americans get the idea that it’s OK to kill civilians? Could it be that they’re listening to media pundits?
Comic Book Superheroes Face Their Greatest Challenge!
Despite the fact that you can’t turn on the TV without being reminded about the existence of superhero movies, the original medium for superhero stories —comic books—has been in significant decline over the past few years. They’ve tried to bring in new readers by diversifying their line-up: DC Comics rebooted everything with its “New 52!” […]
The Sick Madness of Tom Friedman’s Culture
What is going on in our community that a critical number of our columnists believe that every American military action in the Middle East is justifiable?
Bill O’Reilly’s Dangerous Islamophobia
Fox’s Bill O’Reilly, who hosts the most-watched cable news show, has spent much of the week making inflammatory claims about Islam. Sounds like somebody is looking for a religion to scapegoat–or, given his track record, some countries to attack.
Bill O’Reilly Gets Angry Because He Proved David Sirota’s Point
O’Reilly was outraged by Sirota’s point that the government’s response would be very different–more costly, potentially more violent–if the perpetrators fit a certain profile. This is ironic, because O’Reilly had, the night of the attacks, basically made Sirota’s point.
Steve Emerson Gets It Wrong—Again
Why was the “Saudi national,” a young man who was injured at the Boston Marathon bombing, considered a suspect? Enter “terrorism expert” Steve Emerson, who continues to make the media rounds despite a checkered history.
Dean Baker on Social Security, Laila Al-Arian on Homeland and Islamophobia
Dean Baker cuts through the media spin on the “fiscal cliff” and Social Security cuts. And is the hit Showtime drama “Homeland” a deeply Islamophobic show? Laila Al-Arian joins us to discuss her recent piece for Salon.com.
Why Do They Hate Us Back?
U.S. coverage of Islam and Muslim-majority nations is such a carnival of distortion, double standards and bigotry that it’s sometimes hard to believe that journalists inhabit the same planet as the rest of us. This has been especially true as anti-American violence and demonstrations in Libya and other countries have put media fantasies of the […]
Vijay Prashad on “Muslim Rage,” Imara Jones on 47 percent and race
This week on CounterSpin: In the wake of the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and angry demonstrations in several other Muslim countries, corporate media are largely fingering religious differences and the peculiarities of Islam as the reason.
