News as propaganda
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Date
2021
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Université Oum El Bouaghi
Abstract
This study aims specifically to examine the prospect of media-state relations by looking at a Chinese Muslim minority group, namely the Uyghurs. The latter received massive attention from American media outlets, of which the New York Times played a central role. The link between media and politics is one of the central elements of this research. More precisely, this study sought to test the mechanism of Noam Chomsky's famous propaganda model in the coverage of the Muslim Uyghur issue. To reach this end, this study adopted content analysis to scrutinize data related to the Muslim Uyghur issue extracted from the New York Times official website, deciding if the newspaper's content adheres to any form of bias. Additionally, research data from primary and secondary sources such as books, articles, official and published documents, and others-were carefully examined. The analysis showed how the New York Times, a newspaper that claims impartial, investigative and independent journalism, failed to cover the Muslim Uyghur issue objectively. Critical journalism, a core element of Noam Chomsky's propaganda model, was fully absent from the newspaper's content, an aspect that reaffirms the workings of the propaganda model. Whether directly or indirectly, the newspaper manufactured an enemy-like image depicting China as demonized party system that unjustly commits a genocide against its' Muslim population with no critical considerations. In the broader perspective of US-China Relations, the newspaper's content served as the backbone to US-China current geopolitical and economic context. With no interest in presenting impartial-based articles, the newspaper ended up writing propaganda that promotes elite interests.
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Keywords
Muslim Uyghur, Propaganda Model, New York Times, US-China Relation