Editorial: The Iranian election in the Western media

• Source: Global Times
• [08:07 June 22 2009]
• Comments

Western media has been flooded with coverage of the Iranian election in recent days. Conflict, violence, democracy, and protest are the juicy details the public seems interested in.

The coverage has unfortunately fallen into old stereotypes of the Islamic world.

The landslide re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seemed to contradict polls that projected a close race. Media outlets in the West were too quick to claim the election was rigged. However, many domestic polls have indicated the result. And even in democracies in the West, the losing side sometimes claims an election was unfair. This has even happened in the US.

The Western media has also painted the election in black-and-white terms, as if the reformer, Mir Hussein Moussavi, were rising up against the powerful conservative, Ahmadinejad. But really the differences between the candidates are not that great.

The role Twitter, the social networking website, played in the aftermath of the election has added another layer of drama. Twitter is reported to be a powerful tool that many Iranians use to send messages to the outside world, as well as a source from which many journalists receive tips.

The US State Department even supposedly asked Twitter to reschedule a planned technology upgrade to avoid cutting daytime service in Iran.

But not every posting on Twitter has been reliable, and even noted US journalists have said Twitter is more about reflecting a mood than actual facts.

Iran’s unique political system is at a critical time. Its Guardian Council has ordered a recount of 10 percent of the vote. The recount is unlikely to reverse the election result, but should help stabilize the situation.

Western media coverage is still fomenting domestic division and conflict, the impact of which is hard to gauge now.

In reporting on the Islamic world, the Western media is putting freedom of speech too far ahead of responsibility.

While many blame former president George W. Bush’s aggressive policy for strained relations between the US and the Islamic world, the US media has also played a part.

Edward Said pointed out in his book Covering Islam that US popular media has used and perpetuated a narrow and unfavorable image of Islamic peoples.

This has prevented understanding while providing a fictitious common enemy for the diverse American populace. This in turn has created hostility in the Islamic world toward the US.

Western media should give a cautious assessment of the change Iran is facing, not overwhelming criticism. The past negative coverage of Islamic countries only led to hatred.

Now, the reliance on encouraging the opposition faction to influence political change will be futile and only lead to distrust of the Western media.