By Shazia Anwer Cheema
Western media has proven in recent years that for any event to become “news” it requires to be aligned with a broader Western agenda and the “Western needs”.
If we look at the last 72 hours of Western media outlets’ coverage we can see news of Ukraine, Gaza, the Minsk security conference, Navalny’s death, and Imran Khan of Pakistan.
My hypothesis is not denying the idea of the topic chosen for news but the presentation of the news, its inflation out of proportion, and the Western articulation of the provided news are mostly contrary to the ground facts, and that prompts two aspects to dwell deep on; 1: why news is considered news in western media and 2; why the chosen news is always part of the bigger western geopolitical schema.
By looking at the past 72 hours of Western media coverage, everyone knows that the United States has proposed a bill in US Congress to be passed for 62$ billion for Ukraine, also why Ukraine’s right to self-defense is important plus how if the money will not be funneled to Ukraine, the Russian aggression will reach to EU lands and would challenge NATO (a reference to the remarks of Sen. Mitt Romney in the Congress).
To my understanding, self-serving agenda-based news is heavily aired and published on multiple sources, what is missing though is nowhere to be found, one has to dig deep and find refuge in alternate media, or the analyses of independent researchers. Of course, this is a tedious process. By the time, one tries to reach the truth, mainstream Western media already bombards the masses with deceptive content.
The hidden truth about the Ukraine situation is that this war has already been lost. Yesterday’s fight in Avdiivka turned into a massacre of Ukrainian soldiers, reports are that they either got killed, or captured and the remaining are fleeing for their lives. The newly appointed Col. General Oleksandr Syrsky had the nickname “butcher of Bakhmut” by his troops. He was the commanding officer last year of the war fought in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine and put his soldiers in harm’s way and lost miserably. War critics refer to Bakhmut as a meat grinder for Ukrainian fighters.
The heavy losses of Ukrainian lives have been wasted and the same happened now in Avdiivka. The wedge between President Zelensky and his Chief of Military Staff General Valery Zaluzhny created a space for General Syrsky. Sources say that Gen Zaluzhny was more of getting the thought of stopping this pointless war but the West and Zelensky want to continue it at least till the US presidential Elections. The demand of 62$ billion is of no use of any kind to the Ukrainian Army because they need trained soldiers, ammunition, and artillery shells which are not readily available in EU and American stock and their production requires a year or more and Ukrainians don’t have a year to stand in the battleground without weaponry support.
Instead of giving a completely unbiased picture, Western media is using a decoy effect and maintaining the illusion that the West can win this war via Ukrainian proxy and Russia will be turned into pieces in no time.
The second news taking the most time in Western media is the death of Alexei Navalny. The Western media coverage is that he was a Russian opposition leader who was falsely charged and sent to a maximum security prison in Siberia and then murdered right before the Russian election. The coverage echoes the statements of Navalny being truly democratic and vigilante fighting for corruption, again what is missing and West knows the truth that has been purposefully omitted as several US veterans including William Scott Ritter, an American author, and former United States Marine Corps intelligence officer, claims that Alexei Navalny belongs to the generation who experienced 1980s Russia, dysfunctional and corrupt and he ideologically turned towards to the Western thought to get refuge, used to write about corruption, was inclined to politics and around that period he got picked by CIA, offered a fellowship in Yale University. CIA groomed him and sent him back for a single purpose and that was telling the world how corrupt Russia is? Russia knew from the beginning that he was a CIA asset even though it allowed him to leave the country. He went to Germany but came back to Russia again to tell the world how corrupt the Russian system is, and corruption is everywhere from politics to the Presidential Office. He was arrested again and Russia claims he died due to health issues as he had chronic lung and respiratory problems.
Another personality in the Western news is Evan Greshkovich who according to Russia worked under journalistic cover and is in Russian prison that is also big news these days but got toned down after Russian President Putin gave an interview to US journalist Carlson Tucker and Putin in this interview claimed that CIA wants to trade off Evan Greshkovich in exchange to one of Russian undercover. Why would the CIA ask for an exchange deal for a journalist and agree to give back a Russian undercover? There are always signs of a mind having the IQ of the level of room temperature.
So above mentioned pieces of news are fabricated because of the Russo-phobia and are part of a continuous process dated back to the 18th century initiated by the Crown of England, but my reservations are for how long western media can survive like that?
The news coverage of the Gaza situation has had a profound impact on the functionality of Western media. The genocide of Palestinians and the defeat at the hands of Hamas both are missing from the Western media. The civilians are now dragged into Rafah without food and shelter, but the USA has long long-standing commitment to safeguarding Israel in doing so. The USA is providing all the facilitation to materialize a genocide but at the same time, the USA is talking about humanity and humanitarian aid. President Erdogan met Egyptian President Sisi in Cairo to open the humanitarian corridor, but I don’t think President Erdogan can sway Egypt whose economy is heavily dependent on US aid to prioritize humanity over commerce.
The last news on my list from the last 72 hours’ coverage of Western media is Imran Khan and alleged rigging in the General Elections 2024 in Pakistan.
What I mentioned above so far is not a research paper even though it can lead to the thinking that for news to become news requires to be worthy of Western bestowed grace and that grace can only fall if the subject has any use for greater Western farcical “rule-based order and greater good” for humanity. What does Imran Khan have to qualify for that?
I have never doubted that Imran Khan is (was) a Western-infested leader whose only agenda is to pretend to be anti-West but to do the Western bidding. That answers the question of why the West is so interested in Imran Khan and wants him to run the country.
Imran Khan during his previous regime halted the Chinese CPEC and ruined Pakistan’s foreign relations with Russia, by mocking the gas pipeline, with Turkey through public half-nude parading of Turkish Company officials, with Saudi Arabia by cursing the host who borrowed him his aircraft to fly to the US, Iran by maximizing the Taliban backed Sunni militias on Iranian borders. In a nutshell, Imran Khan sabotaged everything for or in favor of the Global South.
If Imran Khan’s claims to the domestic public that he said “absolutely not” to the USA and will never agree to become part of any US venture is true, he could never get the amount of media coverage he is getting. He now is sending messages to his party workers to ask the West to intervene to get him out of jail, why would the West intervene if it has nothing to get out of him? The West has the audacity not to intervene even if an active genocide is happening (for example in Gaza) because that intervention does not suit the Western agenda, so don’t make a fool of the naive public, Imran Khan suits the Western agenda and Imran Khan knows that rest is a mockery of this nation and nationhood.
Now US power corridors are getting war-hungry to the extent that they cannot wait to attack on Iran. A couple of days ago I was listening to an ex-CIA officer turned whistleblower’s vlog and he was of the view that there are elements in the White House who firmly considering attacking Iran to dismantle the Axis of Resistance and vision of Qasem Soleimani for this, the US needs a launching pad. Imran Khan if comes into power can provide a launching pad that will affect the entire region and can frustrate China which has heavy strategic investments in Iran. Since there was no chance left for Imran Khan to hold the power in Centre after being in jail and by losing the majority seats in the National Assembly in the General Elections 2024, Imran Khan instead of calmly forming a government in KPK where he got the majority of seats in more tilted toward holistic nationwide anarchy because his Western masters are not happy with him, they want him to take over the country by hook or by crook and continue doing their biddings behind the facade of anti-West and anti-US rhetoric.
To sum up, the Western media that works on Western agendas are drumming “rigging” in Pakistan instead of doing critical unbiased analyses about the overall political scenario. Western media is not contesting the claims of how Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUIF) that got 30% seats in Balochistan and is in position to form government there claims that General Elections 2024 were rigged because family members of Maulana Fazul Rehman lost all seats?
Western media is also not showing realities that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had a landslide victory in KPK province and is forming a provincial government but still claiming that elections were rigged.
PPP which had regained in rural Sindh and bagged almost all of the provincial seats is going to form the provincial government but claiming that the General Elections 2024 were rigged.
PMLN which has been losing ground in Punjab since the last two general elections is now in a position to form the government in Punjab as well as in the Centre but claims that some of its stalwarts lost their seats due to rigging.
Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) which used to get three to four seats in Sindh failed to maintain its meagre status in the Sindh political scene but now claiming that the General Elections 2024 were rigged because its leaders lost their seats.
Nationalists of Balochistan are claiming that the General Elections 2024 were rigged because its major politicians lost their seats.
The point I am trying to make here is that nothing can get the attention or media coverage in the West until it suits Western political designs and if something is getting this privilege that is because that news is a vehicle to carry forward an agenda. Pakistan’s elections and Imran Khan are getting hyperinflated coverage but just pointing the one perspective, as I have told above the same party is happy to win handsome seats in KPK as well as in the Centre but cries about the rigging drama in other few, what West is doing is picking and choosing illogically and unrealistically, Pakistan has a single election commission who conducted the election so either it failed or didn’t fail to exercise free and fair elections.
However western media is putting mikes on the crying faces of the same party and leaving aside the happy ones. That begs the question of why Western media is so invested in portraying chaos, and anarchy in Pakistan, the answer is simple; either their first choice Imran Khan should be placed in the premier office or someone else should agree to do their bidding if both the scenarios are out of question than a planned campaign with the help of domestic players will be launched to put Pakistan in the world center stage as a problem state.
To my comfort, I am aware of the fact that a pro-Western government will not be formed and distress and fractional unrest will be controlled because Pakistan is looking forward to peace and prosperity in the region and any kind of US back conflict in the region is not in the establishment’s plan. This too will pass but the credibility of Western media will never recover until they decide to choose between journalistic norms or being an agenda-driven political mouthpiece.
We will survive this purge as Russia, China, and the broader Global South have survived it for decades. The truth can never be hidden and the West needs to realize that non-Western perspectives do exist and bear more weight than their superficial pretentious realities. The reality of the Pakistani day is; that neither we want to become part of any war nor we will facilitate Imran Khan’s way to higher office just to destroy us. West can cross any limit but we too will do what will suit us.
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Shazia Anwer Cheema is an author, and analyst and writes articles for national and international media outlets. She did her M.Phil in Cognitive Semiotics from Aarhus University Denmark and is completing her Ph.D. in Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication at Charles University Prague.
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk News.
