Western media's silence on DRC hate speech is disturbing

Author: Annet Nabakooza

• 2023-06-19 05:50:00

The United Nations General Assembly in July 2021 adopted resolution A/73/L.100, proclaiming June 18, as the International Day for Countering Hate Speech. This day was marked for the first time in 2022.

As the crisis in eastern DRC rages, Western media has by omission or commission taken an editorial line that ignores the biggest threat to the Congolese Tutsi; the hate speech and persecution targeting them. Instead, Western media has created its own narrative – framing M23 as an armed group “involved in mass killing and rape with the backing of Rwanda.”

The coverage of M23 rebel activities in DRC by Western media invokes the name of Rwanda to blame the country as an accomplice in the alleged crimes so that the international community should call for sanctions against Rwanda.

Facts on Rwanda’s genuine concerns of an armed genocidal terror group called FDLR are swept under the carpet. The FDLR is a terrorist group formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Its agenda is genocide against the Tutsi wherever they are. And eastern DRC has a big population of Congolese Tutsi who must defend themselves or die.

But Western media’s narrative serves Western political interests, obscures the truth and shields genocide perpetrators in DRC.     

There are historical precedents which show that hate speech can be a precursor to crimes against humanity and genocide. Today, the use of social media and digital platforms enables the quick spread of hate speech like a bush fire. The weaponization of public discourse for political gain has been around for some time, but Western media does not care to warn DRC authorities on being accountable and stopping the hate speech.

History shows that hate speech coupled with disinformation leads to stigmatization, discrimination and large scale violence which are already happening in DRC.

The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers, but with hate speech against a minority. During the Cambodian genocide, hateful discourse systematically dubbed intellectuals, opponents and city dwellers, as well as ethnic and religious minorities as the “enemies” of the people.

In the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, decades of hate speech dehumanized the Tutsi.

During the Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina  nationalist propaganda throughout party-controlled media channels demonized the Bosnian Muslim population. In Myanmar, a campaign of hate and misinformation with derogatory and dehumanizing language was conducted against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

With all the above examples indicating that hate speech is a precursor to genocide, Western media coverage of the DRC crisis finds no urgency in disseminating vital information to prevent a looming genocide. In fact, disinformation and politically motivated narratives on the DRC crisis dominate Western media.

In June 2022, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Nderitu voiced their alarm about the  increase in hostilities between the M23 armed group and the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the impact on the local population in the east of the country. The officials called for all attacks against civilians to stop immediately.

“We have also noticed an escalation of hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence nationwide – and specifically against Kinyarwanda speakers …” the UN officials said.

“Hate speech fuels the conflict by exacerbating mistrust between communities. It focuses on aspects that have previously mattered less, incites a discourse of ‘us vs. them’, and corrodes social cohesion between communities that have previously lived together,” they said.

The UN officials warned that hateful messages heighten the risk of violence, including atrocity crimes targeting specific groups of people. “The use of such hate speech should be roundly condemned by the highest national authorities and curbed.” When Western media ignores such important messages, it is not only an act of being bystanders; there is also an aspect of shielding the perpetrators and condoning serious human rights violations.

Gruesome pictures of lynching, torture, and killing of Congolese Tutsi have gone viral on social media platforms in months without condemning or bringing to justice the perpetrators.  Several DRC officials have openly incited the public to hunt Congolese Tutsi. Western media has been silent and no single official has been condemned right from President Felix Tshisekedi to Gen Aba Van Ang, the Provincial Commissioner of the Congolese National Police in North Kivu Province, and others.

Western media in the 21^st century has lost credibility and trust not only to Western audiences but to the world at large.

Recent examples include the manipulation of facts in the Iraq war to misinformation on the current situation in the Russia-Ukraine and DRC conflicts. 

The reporting template of all Western media houses is the same. The truth and advocacy for the common good have been sacrificed at the altar of greed for profit and political manipulation, despite claims by Western media of being independent and impartial.

Like their cousin, Human Rights Watch, Western media outlets are doing political advocacy. They serve the interests of their masters.