Media workers condemn war on Iran and one-sided coverage

The text remains open to further signatures.

‘We, the undersigned journalists, photojournalists, correspondents and media workers, express our deepest concern and opposition to the recent military attack by the United States and Israel on Iran.

‘After the genocide in Gaza, where the Israeli army continues to massacre Palestinians to this day, Israel is threatening the region with attacks on Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran. The latest US and Israeli attacks on Iran have killed 1,200 civilians, injured another 10,000 and displaced 3.2 million Iranians, according to official sources. The dead include more than 170 victims, the majority of them schoolgirls between the ages of 7 and 12, following an attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran.

‘As media professionals, our mission is to document the truth and defend society’s right to information. In times of war, this task becomes extremely difficult, as one-sided narratives come to dominate the news. In view of this, we express our strong concern and opposition to the way most Greek media outlets are covering the military attack by the United States and Israel on Iran.

‘Specifically, we observe:

‘An absence of criticism of the US and Israel’s violation of international law.

‘The silencing of the Iranian perspective, as officials and ordinary citizens in Iran are rarely given a platform. Instead, airtime is given only to Iranians living outside the country who are willing to speak negatively about Iran’s political system and/or support foreign aggression.

‘The majority of invited analysts are those who support Israel and the US. On the few occasions when analysts who try to highlight the illegal nature of the attacks on Iran are invited, they face a hostile environment.

‘Linguistic manipulation through the use of negatively charged terms when referring to the country under attack, while softening the illegal actions of the aggressors. For example, illegal US-Israeli bombings are described as “targeted strikes”, Iranian retaliation is described as “Iranian attacks”, the Iranian government is labelled a “theocratic regime”, while Israel’s genocidal government is presented in a friendly or, at best, neutral manner. At the same time, the actions and statements of the US and Israel are not questioned, while Iran merely “claims” or “is alleged to have” said or done something, in a blatant attempt to cast doubt on the defender’s account against the aggressor.

‘When the media becomes a propaganda machine for war, when journalism censors itself so as not to upset “allies”, when news is filtered through the prism of Western geopolitical interests described as the “national interest”, then the public is deprived of its right to the truth. And a public that does not know the truth can easily be manipulated into accepting our country’s participation in an unjust war against another country with which we have nothing to divide us.

‘We call on:

‘The management of Greek media outlets to immediately review their approach. They should give space to analysts who criticise US-Israeli policy, include views from the Iranian side, present the facts in full, and refrain from linguistic manipulation.

‘Our colleagues in active service to resist pressure, uphold journalistic ethics and not become mouthpieces for war propaganda.

‘ESIEA and the editors’ associations to take a public position on the phenomenon of one-sided coverage of the war and to defend society’s right to pluralism.’

Signatories:

Dimitris Angelidis
Mika Agrafiotou
Christos Rafik Abdin
Thanasis Avgerinos
Leonidas Vatikiotis
Aristides Georgiou
Argyro Giannoudaki
Aristos Giannopoulos
Marios Dionellis
Iliana Zervou
Aleka Zoom
Lambrini Thomas
Lina Klavdianou
Irene Kontogeorgiou
Antonis M. Mammos
Panagiotis Bouganis
Georgia Mylonaki
Giannis Pantelakis
Ermina Papadima
Panagiotis Papadomanolakis
Lambis Papadopoulos
George Tetradis Papadopoulos
Matina Papachristoudi
George Pleios
Antonis Rigopoulos
Thomas Sideris
Elias Skyllakos
Olga Stefou
Ioanna Sotirhou
Spyros Tsakiris
George Tsiaras
Aris Hadjistefanou
Nektaria Psaraki
Artemis’s Fish

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