As War On Journalism Continues, Our Ignorance Deepens

Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights worked with the Union of Maine Visual Artists' ARRT! to create this puppet of Gazan journalist Bisan Owda sharing her quote: "My job is to document our stories. Your job is to end this genocide."

In conjunction with slaughtering or detaining a record number of Palestinian journalists, and barring foreign reporters from entering Gaza, our corporate overlords have tightly controlled the flow of information via legacy media. For example, by covering only Israel's refutation of charges at the International Court of Justice but not the presentation of the case by South Africa the preceding day.

Here are just a few current events that you probably don't know about if all your information comes from corporate sources like the New York Times, NPR, CNN, et al.

Screenshot from @AROC #FreePalestine account on Twitter

• Protesters shut down the entire port of Oakland, California for a day on January 13. Big support from workers who refused to cross the picket lines!

Source: ANSWERcoalition.org "National March For Gaza Brings Giant Crowd To Joe Biden's Doorstep"

• 400,000 in Washington DC on Saturday in a Muslim-led demonstration with terrific speakers, signage, and an after dark visit to the White House fence.

Screenshot from Alice Rothchild's newsletter

• Interstate-5 in Seattle was shut down for 4 hours to protest genocide in Gaza.

But how can we know about these things if billionaire Jeff Bezos' Washington Post and the like leave us in the dark? Social media, of course. Journalists like Bisan and Motaz Azaiza have huge followings on Instagram eager for their reporting.  Never have people been so empowered to document their own collective punishment. When Israel cuts the power and internet to Gaza, it's these reporters they are trying to silence. That's why we like and reshare any news that leaks out from reliable sources.

Of course there are alt-media sites with real information for those with ears to hear it. Mondoweiss, Electronic Intifada, If Americans Knew, Black Agenda Report, Popular Resistance, MintPressNews, and Pressenza are among my favorites. Folks who prefer video praise BreakThroughNews, Sabby Sabs, Glenn Greenwald, Russell Brand, and Abby Martin among others.

Did you know that there are still two Palestinian journalists missing in Gaza since October 7? Haitham Abdelwahed and Nidal al-Waheidi were detained by Israel's military and have not been heard from since. Their families fear they may have been tortured or even executed. You can send a letter to support them via Amnesty International who will then convey your message to the Israeli authorities, the Embassy of Israel in the U.S., and the U.S. State Department.