Via MHT on Facebook [4/29/2015]
Mark H. Teeter added 4 new photos.
5 hrs ·
VETERAN 'Bild' REPORTER J. REICHELT ON WAR-SPEAK
--> Putin’s War on Truth, by Julian Reichelt (bild.de)
http://www.politico.eu/…/putin-propaganda-ukraine-ceasefire/
-- > A good piece in most respects – and it’s certainly good to see a central European journalist addressing the issue of language deformation, which has been largely the province of Russian commentators (alas), huddling here under the continuous and increasingly Orwellian logo-barrage from officials and media over the last 14 mos.
That said, Reichelt’s valid points are so obvious to an audience in E. Europe -- and come so late in the game -- that the article seems almost quaint. Still, it's a commendable effort at catch-up, and one that deserves a wide audience inside the EU and out. [Highlights below]--> Putin’s War on Truth, by Julian Reichelt (bild.de)
http://www.politico.eu/…/putin-propaganda-ukraine-ceasefire/
-- > A good piece in most respects – and it’s certainly good to see a central European journalist addressing the issue of language deformation, which has been largely the province of Russian commentators (alas), huddling here under the continuous and increasingly Orwellian logo-barrage from officials and media over the last 14 mos.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"As journalists, it is our duty not to fall for the deceptive language of politics. The German chancellor, foreign minister, and other Western political leaders have framed their diplomatic efforts surrounding Ukraine as part of an effort “to prevent a war in Ukraine.” Because preventing a war is such a lovely idea, we often fall in line behind those words, making ourselves complicit in disguising what is actually happening in Ukraine, where a war is already in full swing. Cities are being shelled, thousands of civilians killed and displaced, women raped, playgrounds mortared, land annexed and — to add a war crime — civilian airplanes shot out of the sky with Russian-supplied equipment, operated by Russian-trained mercenaries.
"What’s even more dangerous than the sneaky language of diplomacy is what experts of the trade have learned to call “word as a weapons system” or “information war,” formerly known as propaganda. Being journalists, we all despise it and react with outrage to claims that we are part of it, but in too many cases we unwittingly fall for it. Calling the conflict in Ukraine a bürgerkrieg (civil war) is a good example. Most German news outlets, including my own, have done so.
"But there is no bürgerkrieg in Ukraine. The word itself comes straight out of Putin’s propaganda machine, which frames the war as a national issue rather than an act of aggression. Calling it a bürgerkrieg is an insult to the people who are being attacked, to our readers, and to our profession."
"As journalists, it is our duty not to fall for the deceptive language of politics. The German chancellor, foreign minister, and other Western political leaders have framed their diplomatic efforts surrounding Ukraine as part of an effort “to prevent a war in Ukraine.” Because preventing a war is such a lovely idea, we often fall in line behind those words, making ourselves complicit in disguising what is actually happening in Ukraine, where a war is already in full swing. Cities are being shelled, thousands of civilians killed and displaced, women raped, playgrounds mortared, land annexed and — to add a war crime — civilian airplanes shot out of the sky with Russian-supplied equipment, operated by Russian-trained mercenaries.
"What’s even more dangerous than the sneaky language of diplomacy is what experts of the trade have learned to call “word as a weapons system” or “information war,” formerly known as propaganda. Being journalists, we all despise it and react with outrage to claims that we are part of it, but in too many cases we unwittingly fall for it. Calling the conflict in Ukraine a bürgerkrieg (civil war) is a good example. Most German news outlets, including my own, have done so.
"But there is no bürgerkrieg in Ukraine. The word itself comes straight out of Putin’s propaganda machine, which frames the war as a national issue rather than an act of aggression. Calling it a bürgerkrieg is an insult to the people who are being attacked, to our readers, and to our profession."
No comments:
Post a Comment