Boko Haram vs. Hebdo: Media Bias
In both nations, chilling attacks on free speech took place. On January 7, three gunmen methodically attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper in Paris, killing twelve. In the following two days, a hostage siege at a supermarket and an industrial estate left a total of 17 people dead.
On January 3rd, a group of gunmen from the group Boko Haram stormed into the town of Baga in northeastern Nigeria. They chanted that democracy was a sinful and villainous institution, and that they intended to tear apart the upcoming elections in Nigeria. They then fanned out to attack the homes of Baga and surrounding villages, firing on civilians on sight. Most of those killed were the women, children and elderly people who could not flee fast enough.
So, what are the differences between these two attacks? Firstly, the scale of the atrocity. 17 people died in the Paris massacre and subsequent standoffs. In Baga, Amnesty International reports that 2,000 people have been killed in the past week, though other reports range from 200 to 2,000. Sixteen villages and towns have been burned to the ground. Local officials report that 20,000 civilians have fled the area, many of them missing family members. 600 of those, who swam to safety through Lake Chad, are stranded on an island there with little food or water.
So that makes the second difference between these attacks all the more shocking: news coverage. CNN, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal—almost every major news outlet dedicated their web or paper covers to the bloodshed in Paris, the unity marches, or the disrespect of American dignitaries. Baga, Nigeria, is usually relegated to a sidebar. When hundreds of people are massacred, we should question why it’s not front-page news. When 16 towns are razed and burned to the ground, we should question why it’s not front-page news. When 20,000 refugees flee their homes in one week, we should question why it’s not front-page news.
I mean in no way to downplay this week’s killings in Paris, which were tragic and hideous events. I want us to keep discussing the Charlie Hebdo killings, the role of satire in media, and how we can prevent the Paris attacks from ever happening again. It’s invaluable. But we should also question the world’s media. For when the media prioritizes 17 deaths in France, and neglects 200 deaths in Nigeria, it sends a message: those 17 lives are the ones we should care about.
As reporter Simon Allison wrote after the Baga massacre: “It may be the 21st century, but African lives are still deemed less newsworthy — and, by implication, less valuable — than Western lives.” We all know that a problem as large as Boko Haram doesn’t have a simple solution, and I can’t begin to propose one in this short piece. I know that mere activism and awareness will not solve the massacres in Baga. But without media, there is no awareness, and without awareness, there can be no solution. We need to start somewhere, and our long tradition of a free press is where the solution usually begins.
The press has tremendous power in shaping what we talk about, from late-night dorm arguments all the way to debates on the Senate floor. They craft the lens through which we see the world. So to every news anchor, printer, and newspaper editor in America, I have a hope: start treating all lives as equal. Use your power wisely. ♥