Homosexuality in the Iraqi media: incitement campaigns .. and hate speech
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Homosexuality in the Iraqi media: incitement campaigns .. and hate speech
The Iraqi Media House monitors in its 34th report how the media are dealing with the homosexuality issue after becoming a global public opinion issue over the past few years. The monitoring discusses what the media and social networking sites play negatively and positively in dealing with the subject. The issue is complicated in Arab societies, including Iraq, because of the customs, traditions and religion that are involved in discussing the issue.
The new report tackles the number and quality of news coverage on homosexuality for more than 40 media outlets, including TVs, newspapers, agencies and news websites focusing on counting the content and types of the content and how it is handled and then analyzed according to the standards of professional journalism.
The Iraqi Media House indicates that the media and social media pages play a role in inciting hatred against homosexuals and contributed to the production of direct violence including cases of murder, kidnapping, torture, defamation, by lacking the impartiality press coverage in dealing with this sensitive subject that affecting Peaceful coexistence in the country.
Homosexuality is one of the most modern topics on the Arab and Iraqi media in particular. and media dealt with this issue either by ignoring or incitement or focus on the global news on them without covering the issue locally. The media must abide by objective rules in dealing with such sensitive issues.
The report reached the following conclusions:
- The local media have dealt with the sexual homosexuality issues in a limited manner, and most of the news content confined to Arab and foreign news with almost complete disregard for this issue locally, with the exception of limited news and reports that dealt with the issue impartially, and we can realize that this issue in investigation reports and television programs was almost completely absent.
- Media use the homosexuality terms as a tool for social degradation and political dichotomy, and try to link them to the concepts of secularism, civil, atheism, prostitution and sexual pornography to achieve political goals, which reflected negatively on the direction of opinion towards the positions of radical can be seen on social networking sites.
- Media adopted a direct incitement speech against homosexuals through programs and media coverage that adopt positions and statements of clerics, politicians and public figures are full of hate speech and humiliation, in exchange for ignoring the coverage of politics and moderate clerics on the issue.
- The media focused on the issue of homosexuality in a non-objective manner by hosting one party without another, while the guests of some programs and reports are not specialized and focused on the views of a non-scientific person as well as they did not abandon the speech of incitement and direct and indirect humiliation.
Recommendations:
- Media organizations of all kinds, both visible and printed, should attention the professional side with covering the news related to homosexuality and realize the dangerous role played by the media in non-professional coverage in directing the public opinion towards provocative campaigns leading to violent acts amounting to murder.
- The media and journalists should deal with issues of homosexuality as a global issue linked to scientific and medical issues, which require the use of specialists from doctors and psychologists to address the issue without taking a prior position, taking into account the society nature, traditions and religion.
- The media should refrain from using homosexuality issues in political delinquency and avoidance of statements issued by public figures in this field.
