A NEW YouGov poll has found that less than half of people in the UK believe the British media’s reporting on Gaza has been fair.
The survey, which interviewed 2533 adults between July 17 and 18, found that only 33% of the British public felt media coverage of the events in Gaza has been reported fairly.
Commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, the survey will be released to coincide with the Jalsa Salana – the UK’s largest Muslim convention – taking place from July 26-28 in Hampshire.
More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s bombardment started in October.
Figures found that while only 33% of the British public felt media coverage of the Israel-Gaza war was fair, while almost twice as many people (62%) felt the same about media coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The upcoming Jalsa Salana will also host a panel discussion on how the media reporting on Gaza with the convention led by the Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hazrat Mirza Masroor.
The Caliph said: “There is no doubt that the media plays a huge role in influencing public opinion and so the media should use this power responsibly – as a force for good and as a force for peace.
“True justice requires presenting the entire state of affairs and then let the world decide who the oppressor and oppressed are, to what extent this war is warranted and at what point it should end.
“Hence all the facts should be presented to the world, as opposed to presenting merely one-sided coverage.”
The survey also found that younger people were even more sceptical of the reporting on Gaza with only 17% of 18-24 year olds feeling it was fair, compared to 56% for Ukraine.
Gaza Strip correspondent for Al Jazeera English Youmna ElSayed, who will appear on the upcoming panel, said: “There is a massive failure by the mainstream media in the way it is reporting the war in Gaza.
“Basic editorial principles are abandoned to favour certain narratives. The most routine fact-checking does not take place and headlines do not reflect the true nature of the atrocities.
“Much of the media coverage has been a travesty, excusing a genocide in real-time. It’s time for better media accountability, responsible coverage and a return to a fundamental principle of journalism – to report without fear or favour.”
The bombardment of Gaza has been the deadliest for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists started collecting data in 1992.
As of July 19, 108 journalists and media workers were confirmed killed – 103 Palestinian, two Israeli and three Lebanese.
