“Fake news” is exploding out of war zones around the world, the result of the virtual elimination of war journalists, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In a shocking review of its efforts in places like Aleppo and Mosul, the ICRC director said that “journalists have disappeared,” robbing the world of balanced news and giving way the rise of biased home made news often pushed by warring parties.
ICRC Director General Yves Daccord, a former journalist, said, “What I see as a fact is you do have less independent reporting, that’s very clear. We don’t speak so much about that, but one thing which has disappeared are journalists. I don’t see journalists any more in places where we operate. There’s none.”
Daccord was interviewed by former CBS newsman Bob Schieffer and H. Andrew Schwartz for their Center for Strategic & International Studies podcast called “About The News.”
The podcast is here.
“Ten years ago you would see important journalists on the ground being able to get there. Ten years ago you would have journalists reporting on the Islamic State group, about Syria from Aleppo, from Iraq, from Mosul. What information do we get from Mosul which are independent, somebody that we know, who we value? Today we’re not sure,” he said.
Daccord said the result isn’t just fake news and propaganda, but people posting stories on social media that feed the biases of the viewers and readers.
“We underestimate the fact that journalists have disappeared,” he said on the CSIS podcast.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
