The death toll after Israel’s attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza has been appalling. Nearly 300 were killed in what EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called “another massacre of civilians”. And yet some seemed to see it very differently.
“In Israeli hostage rescue, minutes made the difference” was one headline. “How Israel Saved a Hostage Rescue Mission That Nearly Failed” was another. “The Israeli mission to rescue four hostages from Gaza echoed Entebbe. It will be hard to repeat” was a third, which referred to the 1976 mission led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s elder brother Yonatan to rescue Israeli hostages from an airport in Uganda.
Many were more even-handed, but it beggars belief that anyone could believe that the main focus of this story should be on the four hostages saved – as welcome as that will be for them and their families – and not the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, with further hundreds wounded. Those that evidently did included the US State Department, whose press statement on “The Rescue of Four Hostages from Gaza” failed to mention the Palestinian casualties entirely.
When wondering how anyone could think like that, I happened to see the news about Noam Chomsky’s ill health – and it reminded me of the theory he and Edward S Herman wrote about in a famous book of the same name: manufacturing consent.
I’d never taken the “propaganda model of communication” – which suggests that what we think of as “news” has already been filtered to serve the interests of elites – too seriously. This was partly because about 20 years ago, a group of activists repeatedly argued that journalists in Britain (as I then was) were all corporate stooges who had either been bought off or had been tricked into believing the mainstream narratives of the day. Being certain that I’d made up my own mind, I rejected their whole approach.
When one sees the headlines above, however, or the performances by US President Joe Biden and his administration's spokespeople who for months have seemed unable to accept that the devastation Israel has wrought upon the Palestinian people truly matters, one has to conclude that you have to be conditioned to see the world in that way.
Online and on social media, everything is content. And content is king
Consent – witting or unwitting – to that narrative has to have been earned by a particular marshalling, even distortion, of fact, opinions and values, probably over quite a long time.
Attitudes can harden pretty quickly, too, though, as a report on British media coverage of China published by King’s College London in January shows. Particularly in recent years, it states, UK outlets have made “use of repeated memes about China that reinforce a monochrome, reductionist and negative picture of the country and its politics”. This “is influential in policymaking and contributes to shaping the acceptable bounds of policy discussion”.
Fortunately, there is a world where conformity is far harder, if not impossible, to manufacture: social media and online. This isn’t new. Long ago, I made the case that Malaysia’s 2008 polls were the country’s first “internet election”. The then government thought online campaigning didn’t matter; the then opposition knew differently, and it made significant inroads in winning state assemblies.
But online spaces have expanded exponentially since then. Anyone who looks at X – to take one example – knows that there are a huge number of impassioned threads and conversations constantly going into great detail about what has been happening in Gaza.
Only a few weeks after October 7, many were already arguing that Israel had lost the war for global opinion among the billions who are clicking and swiping, plenty of whom may not care overly whether their information is coming from storied legacy media outlets or from ordinary people on the street.
It beggars belief that anyone could believe that the main focus of this story should be on the four hostages saved and not the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians
Just today I could read US Senator Bernie Sanders calling Mr Netanyahu a “war criminal”, the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem’s report on state-backed settler violence in the West Bank, and heart-rending posts from the Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti. (Later, for some light relief, I might spend 30 minutes on a watch forum, interacting with fellow enthusiasts. The point is all of life is there online.)
Here, too, you can find figures who have either mostly vanished or been banished from the mainstream media.
Take Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs. Once one of the most prominent economists on the planet – he remains a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate – his words are still reported in online outlets, often from the Middle East and China. But he is generally absent from the platforms that used to give him plenty of space. The reason? Prof Sachs challenges the narratives that dominate the western political classes on Israel, Russia and China.
Has he become a conspiracy theorist, as some allege? You can decide for yourself by watching his interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored from this March. That’s another example. Mr Morgan was recently taunted on a BBC programme for no longer having a television show. Since Mr Morgan has 2.9 million subscribers on YouTube and his channel has reportedly had more than 700 million views, I daresay he’s not too bothered. Online and on social media, everything is content. And content is king.
So there is another, huge alternative media universe out there, in which each time Israel conducts another massacre the perpetrators are named and the victims are not erased.
But it still troubles me that dissenting voices have been so completely excised from the big beasts of traditional media, particularly in the West. There is no obligation to agree with them, but I do think we should hear them.
Also, surely we can agree on this: something has gone badly wrong when any organisation can believe that the headlines I quoted at the start were an appropriate way to describe what happened in Gaza on June 8.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The five pillars of Islam
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Company%20Profile
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