A new study of how the media covers minorities in the United States finds that depictions of Muslims in the news remain by far the most frequent and the most negative.
Erik Bleich, director of the Media Portrayals of Minorities Project Lab at Vermont’s Middlebury College, thinks the finding of this study is “pretty amazing.” It shouldn’t be; the reason for this is obvious. Bleich’s wonderment is akin to stating that it is “amazing” and a mystery why Germany and Germans were reported about negatively more than any other country or people during World War II. Not all Germans were Nazis, but it is also obvious why Germany and Nazism would be reported about negatively in nations that opposed the spread of Nazism.
It is the same today: the global jihad is abusive, totalitarian and aggressively expansionist. Jihad terror is real, and has a 1,400-year history.
In the news business, whoever is committing the most crimes and upheaval, regardless of race or religion, are most reported about, even as the media does its best to obfuscate the ideological roots of the global jihad.
In the study:
Researchers also found that just 2% of articles covering Muslims mentioned Islamophobia or anti-Muslim sentiment and 3% of articles explicitly noted anti-Muslim hate crimes. In contrast, 17% of Jewish articles mentioned anti-Semitism.
All genuine “hate crimes” are wrong. There is, however, no comparison between “Islamophobia” — which is a label used of legitimate and justified criticism of Islam — and the longstanding scourge of antisemitism, which is pure hatred against Jews only because they are Jewish.
“Report: News coverage of Muslims is more negative than of other minority groups,” by Aysha Khan, Religion News Service, September 4, 2019:
(RNS) — A new study of how the media covers minorities in the United States finds that depictions of Muslims in the news remain by far the most frequent and the most negative.
“Muslims are just way down there in comparison to the other groups,” said Erik Bleich, director of the Media Portrayals of Minorities Project Lab at Vermont’s Middlebury College. “It’s pretty amazing.”
The lab’s report, released Tuesday (Sept. 3), analyzes 26,626 articles mentioning African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Jews and Muslims that were published in 2018 in four national newspapers — The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.
About 9,000 of those articles mentioned Islam or Muslims, which constituted more than a third of the total articles analyzed.
The second-most-covered minority group were African Americans, who were the subject of about 6,500 articles. Jews were mentioned in nearly 6,000 articles, of which the average tone was neutral.
Researchers scored each article on how positive or negative it was, then compared the average result for each group to the average U.S. newspaper story.
Any score above 0.5 or below -0.5 denoted clearly positive or negative connotations, respectively. Coverage of Muslims was averaged out to -0.7, a number Bleich called “striking.”
Foreign reporting, which more often involves coverage of violent conflict or Islamist groups, was a major factor of negativity for articles covering Muslims. …
gravenimage says
New study says depictions of Muslims in the news are mostly negative, researcher finds this “pretty amazing”
…………………
What a moron.
Wellington says
Indeed, gravenimage.
And just ponder for a moment how much knowledge of Islam this researcher truly has. Guess research ain’t what it used to be.
gravenimage says
Alas, it turns out that Erik Bleich is not just an ignorant naif. He wrote “an Emerging Comparative Concept — What Is Islamophobia and How Much Is There?” in 2011.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.709.8069&rep=rep1&type=pdf
And “Muslims and the State in the Post-9/11 West: Introduction” in 2009.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691830802704509
Wellington says
Thanks for both links. You know, it was difficult reading them (especially the first because it was nonsense longer rather than shorter), but I did nonetheless.
This man, Eric Bleich, is a fool of the first order. He is nothing more than a rank apologist for the proto-type for Nazism, i.e., Islam. The former preached a master race and the latter preaches a master faith. Bleich is utterly clueless here all the while he is an enabler of evil.
And just imagine if Christians had committed over 35,000 terrorist attacks in the name of their religion over the past 18 years. No way a fool like Bleich would be defending Christians whatsoever.
The nonsense never stops, does it? Led often times by stupidly well-educated people. Eric Bleich comes to mind. He sure does.
gravenimage says
Yes–Bleich is another useful idiot.
Herb says
For arguments sake let’s do a simple examination of the facts. Most times Terrorists are Muslims, and second, most attacks by the sword is By Muslims, and Third, Most Muslims follow the great Muhammad and follow the “Kill the Infidels” Mantra, and Third Most Muslims cry Allah Akbar right before an attack, and fourth All Muslims that refuse to take out all the hate speech contained in the Quran. Now if you would like a debate with me, I have more ammunition to use against all Muslim beliefs. And you all can call this Islamophobic, names don’t bother me, but THE TRUTH bothers ALL Muslims, because they don’t have truth in their Quran. They have nothing but HATE for all mankind that did not have a Muslim father. So If I am an Infidel, and you want me dead, there is no other defense against your attacks of my people and Islam should be declared as a Terrorist Cult and Banned from all Western Nations. My Father was not a Muslim, and my Dad was not a Muslim and you Hate both of them and trying to destroy all Christians because you think you are Superior, in which case you will never be superior, and only by the sword will you convert anyone who are weak and get what they deserve. So go ahead and Kill, all you do is make more Myrters for CHRIST. And you can’t kill the soul, Jesus has our back, and will come back to Destroy your Agenda and of of us Christians who stood for the real GOD and Savior of the world will be right there handing out Justice for your Sins.
mortimer says
Erik Bleich is a professor of political science at Middlebury College in Vermont. His research focuses on ethnic diversity and policy making in Western Europe.
I would surmise he is a paid employee of Middle Eastern governments and he is paid to promote Islam and undermine criticism of it. Bleich is a paid traitor.
jarmanray says
So true.
t. says
Right on, Christine! A very well written article and to the point.
mortimer says
Erich Bleich should be forensically audited.
Westman says
Anyone who knows the news business, knows, “If it bleeds, it leads”.
With 20,000+ Islamic terror incidents since 9/11, one should only wonder why any non-Muslim has a positive view of Islam. The media has done its best to cover up the sheer magnitude, yet like the smell of rot, covering it up with the thin veneer of denial isn’t enough.
Emilie Green says
Another “researcher” who has failed to know his subject. If he would bother to read Islam’s core document, the Qur’an, and take note of what it instructs Muslims to do to non-Muslims, he might begin to understand the negative, anti-social behavior of Muslims.
Bill Warner has made a very easy starting point for any researcher who truly is searching for the truth about Islam and Muslim behavior, which has been remarkable consistent for 1400 years.
https://www.politicalislam.com/statistics-and-the-meaning-of-islam/
“Once the Koran is rearranged in the right time order, categorized and Mohammed’s life is woven back into it, another fact leaps from the page. Very little of the Koran is devoted to how to be a Muslim, the religion of Islam. Instead, the majority of the Koran is about kafirs, non-Muslims. Kafirs are the worst of the creation. Allah hates kafirs and plots against them. Kafirs can be tortured, murdered, robbed, raped and enslaved. The Koran is fixated on kafirs, as was Mohammed.
To measure the Koranic fixation on kafirs, let us measure the fixation by counting the “amount of text devoted to them. In Mecca an astounding 68% of the text is devoted to the kafir. In Medina 57% was about kafirs. The amount of text in the entire Koran devoted to kafirs is 51%.”
Jay says
It’s like if I punch someone in the face at my college for no good reason, and then stories circulate about me. I study the stories and find out that most of the stories are negative. How can this be? I am truly puzzled, for I am a total moron. What’s more, top scholars do a scientific survey. They find that among all the other people in my college class, none have been involved in any sort of violence. And I am the only one who has gained a negative reputation!! Why? The scholars are even more shocked than I am. How could this occur? they ask. What could be the reason for such anger, and the negative stereotyping I am suffering? Most likely it is racism against me as a member of whatever racial or ethnic group I may be in. That must be it !!! The USA is racist, the USA is racist, the USA is racist. The scientists organize groups to combat racism and they speak out against Racist USA on campuses, urging the students to riot, throw bricks and violently protest anyone who opposes my rights to punch people in the face anytime I want. Then I run for Congress and continue to proclaim my rights to punch everyone in the face anytime I want, and I win, because I have the support of the intellectuals on campus and all the scientists who study politics and racism.
somehistory says
“striking” is what the moslims are doing…that’s why they are in the news, and in a negative way, more than other groups.
How many of the “Asians” were also moslims in the news because they were labeled that way in the U.K.?
Since some moslims are also Black, how much was the overlap there?
If dog bites man, that sometimes makes the news, but it’s an old story. If man bites dog, it’s a different thing.
so, this researcher guy should ask himself, ‘Just why are the moslims making the news so often and in a negative way?”
He probably feels that would be to phobic to wonder about other than to say it’s “striking” Which again, is because they are doing so much of it in so many places to so many people.
James Lincoln says
The researcher is undoubtedly working under the entirely false assumption that all religions/cultures are equal.
That’s why he is amazed at the negative depiction of Muslims in the media.
gravenimage says
Given how long he has been writing about Islam and terrorism, I doubt he is actually amazed. This is more a pose than anything.
James Lincoln says
gravenimage,
Yes, likely true…
Robert_k says
Which Islamic suicide bomber or head chopper or knife stabber should the media portray positively?
gravenimage says
+1
JMB says
Here in Sydney yesterday there was a tragic motor accident, a car ran a red light and killed a schoolboy. Take a few minutes to look at this. Negative image,,, https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/man-charged-following-crash-that-killed-12-year-old-boy-in-hurstville-20190906-p52osm.html
shoehorn says
Abdul Rahman ‘charged with manslaughter’ … more likely vehicular jihad.
JMB says
Vehicular jihad by default; people such as this offender have absolutely no respect for Australian laws including including road rules.
KWJ says
There isn’t anything negative in that Australian article about Muslims. Just a typical article about a tragic car accident killing a 12 year old boy and no mention of the word Muslim, just a name, which all articles mention if they know it. There’s also no reason to think it’s vehicular jihad given that so many accidents are caused by all different sorts of people such as the Hispanic guys racing around in Honda’s-a menace to society-one killing a 15 year old walking. It so happens it’s Hispanic guys in the Honda’s.
JMB says
True, but when the news first broke both the name and pictures of the offender made it quite obvious that we were dealing with a Muslim who has no respect for Australian law. Like if he had his licence suspended he would say, “I am not bound by Australian Law” and his mother is probably still saying “my son, he do nothing wrong”. No this is not jihad, but on the other hand these incidents do absolutely nothing towards promoting a positive image of Islam either here in Australia or anywhere else.
Terry Gain says
https://pjmedia.com/trending/american-airlines-mechanic-charged-with-sabotaging-plane-with-150-passengers-onboard/
gravenimage says
Yes, Terry–a deeply disturbing story.
ntesdorf says
It would be a really hard slog and extremely unrewarding to try and find anything other than negative news about Islam or Muslims in the World today.
Terry Gain says
Not at all. Muslims who engage in terrorist attacks are either mentally ill or have hijacked Islam
gravenimage says
Notice that most of these “positive stories about Muslims” are actually pretty disturbing:
https://blogofthebeardedone.wordpress.com/2016/11/20/9-positive-stories-about-muslims/
Trick_or_Treat says
“New study says depictions of muslims in the news are mostly negative, …”
Well, I’ll be…! Gee, I wonder, could this possibly have something to do with the apparent reality that just about everything being depicted by muslims and islam right around the world is NEGATIVE (with a capital ‘N’) by very nature anyway? Let’s even leave out 9/11 and the last 1400 years even.
…And that’s even despite of, and in the face of, the, generally leftist-aligned, global Mainstream media’s best efforts to censor; ignore; mitigate; obscure; ‘airbrush’, ‘creatively edit’, obfuscate, suppress, and ‘consensus engineer’ at every pillar and post on this and other issues.
So then, what about all the jihad crap; the bombings; the roadside IEDs; the (and ongoing) massacres of Christians, the child enslavement and suicide boming recruitments; the mass illegal migrations and border incursions; the kidnappings and extortions; the hijackings and sabotagings; the high-seas piracy; the herion drug trafficking; the forced conversions and marriages; the child genital mutilations; the ‘honour killings’; the destruction of churches, synagogues, and temples (along with the murder and torture of their nuns, rabbis, and clergymen); the destruction and vandalism of world heritage historical archeological sites and museums; the hostile, hate-filled, and ‘incitement to violence’-riddled sermons (in direct concurrence with all the evil crap contained in the pages of their satanic qu’ran); the murderous vendetta fatwas; the acid attacks; the political assassinations; the gang violence and coercions; the wholesale rapes, and rape gangs; the outrageous and violent gynaphobic persecution and subjugation of women; the push for the propagation of THEIR hideous ‘sharia law’ (and all the limb-chopping, and head-chopping, etc, that comes with it); the never-ending issuing of threats against the ‘everyone else’ infidels; the constant ‘Sudden Jihad Syndrome’, of lone wolf or group attacks, murders, and suiscide bomings, etc, …to name just some of their wonderful civilised antics. Do some people actually want us all to believe that all this is merely just nasty lies and fabrications manufactured by all of us ‘islamophobics’ to cast aspersions on islam and the qu’ran, and make it’s wonderful ‘religion of Peace and Love’ be seen in a bad light?
FOR F**K’S SAKE! WHAT the hell does it take to get some people (polititions and media people in particular) to wake up and be able to see and call a f**king spade a spade, an apple an apple, and a snake a f**king snake?! …a massive dose of Sodium Pentothal perhaps? You tell me.
KWJ says
+1 Mainstream media such as those he studied, major city newspapers and web sites such as Huffington Post, etc. do not mention all those things you said when they use the absurd word ‘Islamophobia.’ To add to your list, the preaching of anti-Western values, anti-secularism, anti-Jew, anti-gay, no doubt there are mosques that stock-pile weapons, support for terrorist groups, and obnoxious things such as three parades in NYC where an American flag’s stars were covered by the Islamic crescent and star, also one with presumably fake AK-47s and the police just stood by when that would scare people.
Another thing is what they call “positive discrimination” which is giving a lot of attention to Muslims and Islam teaching in schools, in the media, universities more than other religions and atheism, agnosticism, etc. Then the allowance of religious reasons regarding religious clothing such as for passports and the like. Even some blacks resent it because they have been most maligned in US history and Muslims aren’t significant at all in US history except that we formed our Navy in order to fight their pirating and kidnapping our sailors and disrupting commerce off the Barbary North African coast. Yet Leftists try to play up their minor role and don’t even mention our Navy nor the vast Islamic imperialism and colonization and huge slave trade and castration of black boys and how it took much much longer for them to abolish slavery though they continued it in some Islamic countries.
People resent that white-washing if accurate history…I sure do…while the US is far better regarding race and discrimination even if not perfect (and will never be 100% perfect because of human nature.)
Hinduism, older than Judaism, and a major religion has not been given the same attention, for example. The increased Muslim immigration in my lifetime is not due to refugees by a long shot. Muslims appear to refuse to admit all this that would lead to negative views. Oh, and enclaves of Muslims where they are illegally practicing sharia law with all its bad habits and discrimination even towards journalists who go into those enclaves.
Michael Copeland says
News item for Erik Bleich:
“We are at war and I am a soldier” – muslim London 7/7 murderer
mortimer says
Negative perception? I’m shocked, shocked.
Could this ‘negativity’ be related in some way to the Koran’s 164 Jihad Verses ???
K 002:178-179, 190-191, 193-194, 216-218, 244; 003:121-126, 140-143, 146, 152-158, 165-167,169, 172-173, 195; 004:071-072, 074-077, 084, 089-091, 094-095,100-104; 005:033, 035, 082; 008:001, 005, 007, 009-010, 012, 015-017, 039-048,057-060, 065-075; 009:005, 012-014, 016, 019-020, 024-026, 029,036, 038-039, 041, 044, 052, 073, 081, 083,086, 088, 092, 111, 120, 122-123; 016:110; 022:039, 058, 078; 024:053, 055; 025:052; 029:006, 069; 033:015, 018, 020, 023, 025-027, 050; 042:039; 047:004, 020, 035; 048:015-024; 049:015; 059:002, 005-008, 014; 060:009; 061:004, 011, 013; 063:004; 064:014; 066:009; 073:020; 076:008.
Or perhaps the ‘negativity’ relates to the more than 35,000 deadly jihad attacks since 9-11 about 5 lethal attacks every day on average, resulting in an average of 50 deaths daily from jihad.
Angemon says
But not inacurate or untruthful. It’s negative because muslims make it so – not even the far-left propaganda rags can pick up a “muslim murdered people while shouting allahu akbar, I do this to avenge my prophet” story and report it as “muslim hands out hugs and kisses to random passersby”.
Not yet, at least…
AP says
Erik Bleich, is not someone we want teaching anything to anyone, as he doesn’t understand anything. Just another silly fool.
MJP says
Well when you do the negative things such as having sex with Children, running over innocent people with cars, Blowing up people by crashing planes into Buildings, attempting to overrun countries then demanding they be controlled by Sharia Law, & run according to the standards set by the Quran what does he expect people to think & look at the 2 Muslim Congress members & their hatred for the US & Israel.
gravenimage says
+1
KWJ says
I have a hard time buying into his stats. I read the New York Times, some of the Washington post until they want to charge me $1.00 to read one article. USA Today seems more reporting and the Wall Street Journal is traditionally about finance. I am always complaining about the first two using Islamophobia and equating it to anti-Muslim and coddling articles such a Muslim writer saying that sharia law is “benign” and it’s not all about stoning people and chopping arms for theft but Muslim author doesn’t even mention the numerous and totalitarian and discriminatory laws that comprise the shariah.
Reporting crimes and the growing worldwide cancer of Islamic terrorism is negative of course-it’s so major. Other crimes are obviously reported and when it’s a white man they’ve often put ‘white’ in the headline but not for blacks, Muslims, etc. (More discrimination. What happened to equality?)
He used only four newspapers when big city newspapers, e.g. the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle, other NYC papers and my state’s major paper owned by Hearst Corporation which coddles Muslims as our Governor when they don’t even know the perpetrator of a mosque fire which could have been for insurance reasons. Also our state papers have abandoned comment sections which isn’t a good idea as the Internet has provided more dialogue positive and negative leaving the major newspapers comment sections as largely an echo chamber.
Then there’s TV…
Jews have always been the most attacked ethnic-religious group. I’ve seen plenty of vile anti-Jew talk by Muslims online and ones with local government jobs too. I guess Muslims want to overcome Jews in every way let alone Christians because Islam wants to be supreme over all religions and Allah’s laws instituted everywhere over secular laws as in the US. The first step is for them to be allowed to practice their sharia laws, have their holidays accommodated, etc. until total domination. Then there is their lying and obfuscation and dualism about the Qur’an and Islam. Well, obviously Muslims are propagating these negative views and negative reactions are understandable. Look at the numbers and percentages of what Muslims support and bring with them. Those numbers are so large that it makes it nearly impossible to trust what they say.
It’s also Muslims who emphasize their Muslimness rather than “I’m Iraqi” and leave it at that.
abad says
Islam has no redeeming value, that’s why.
Islam breeds hatred and violence, Islam is destructive to civilization and the human race.
UNCLE VLADDI says
i.e : “So, based on the evidence, they’re portraying swarthy crime-gang members as criminals? Obviously, they must be racists!”