Media Outlets Must Address Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Muslim Bias After Attack on Mehdi Hasan

CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NBC, CBS & ABC

We join the US Council of Muslim Organizations in encouraging all Americans to sign a petition calling on major media outlets to address any anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias within their networks in the wake of a racist and threatening anti-Palestinian comment that CNN commentator directed at Mehdi Hasan live on air on Oct. 29th.


During a panel discussion on CNN last night, Hasan said as a supporter of Palestinians he was used to people groundlessly accusing him of being an antisemite. Girdusky then replied, “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” alluding to the recent pager bombings carried out by Israel in Lebanon. Girdusky was removed from the panel after the comment.



In a statement, the US Council of Muslim Organizations said:

“We thank CNN host Abby Phillips for immediately calling out the racist and dangerous attack on Mehdi Hasan and ejecting Ryan Gidursky from the show. Although this is an important step, it must only be the first step. The anti-Palestinian bigotry we saw last night is a symptom of a bigger problem: anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim dehumanization, bigotry and bias across major American media outlets. All media outlets must now take steps to any address anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias within their coverage and their networks.

“CNN still has not forced Jake Tapper, Dana Bash and David Chalian to apologize and issue formal corrections for spreading a defamatory lie about Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib several weeks ago or addressed reports that CNN has systematically favored pro-Israel narratives in its coverage or reconsidered its decision to platform Bill Maher, an open anti-Muslim bigot.

"MSNBC has not taken any action against frequent commentator Jonathan Greenblatt, who has used his time on air to claim that Jewish and Palestinian college students were proxies of Iran equivalent to Hezbollah and that the network appeared to be using Hamas scriptwriters.  

"At CBS, top executives have reportedly come to the defense of a reporter who hijacked a book interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates and launched a series of biased interrogation, even equating Coates with an extremist."

"Numerous other media outlets have exhibited an obvious pro-Israel bias in their coverage of the ongoing war on Gaza, from frequently platforming pro-Israel voices and rarely interviewing pro-Palestinian voices, to downplaying, ignoring or justifying Israeli attacks on Palestinians while closely covering, highlighting and condemning attacks on Israel.
Sponsored by
Muslimbanner
Muslim
Jersey City, NJ

To: CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NBC, CBS & ABC
From: [Your Name]

Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias arise far too often in most major American media outlets. The hateful incident on CNN should be a wake up call for all media outlets, which should now tackle anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bias head-on. Specifically, we are calling on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, and other major outlets to:

1. Balance coverage of issues related Israel and Palestine by giving advocates for Palestinian human rights the same amount of time and interview opportunities given to advocates for the Israeli government.

2. Include not only more pro-Palestinian and Muslim panelists, but Palestinian panelists who can share firsthand experiences and perspectives.

3. Treat the deaths of Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese people as equally newsworthy by using breaking news alerts in consistent ways and dedicating similar amounts of times and types of coverage to such deaths, regardless of race or nationality.

4. Review and revise editorial guidelines to ensure fair and unbiased reporting on issues related to Israel and Palestine, such as refusing cooperation with Israeli military censors, barring former employees of the Israeli or Palestinian government from serving as news reporters related to the Israeli government, and using neutral, non-biased language when referring to Israelis and Palestinians.

5. Host training for staff and contributors on unique issues of diversity, equity and inclusion related to Palestinian and Muslim Americans to reduce dehumanization and bias in coverage.