More than 60% of news pieces and around 50% of news programs in the British print and electronic media platforms painted a negative image of Islam and Muslims, a study conducted to analyze the UK’s media trends from 2018 to 2020 has revealed.
The study was carried out by the Centre for Media Monitoring (CMM), a UK-based organization run by Muslims that highlights negative narratives regarding Islam in the British media as well as positive developments, in collaboration with the Sunday Times and Daily Mirror.
CMM analyzed more than 48,000 news pieces of 34 publishers and 5,500 news programs of 38 TV channels. It also assessed 10 case studies that defamed Muslims, with damages paid in 9 of them along with a public apology. This makes it the most comprehensive study conducted to determine how Islam and Muslims are portrayed in the British media to date.
According to the study, right-wing publishers and TV channels remained more critical and demonstrated a strong bias against them in comparison to the ring-wing publishers and TV channels. Of all the right-wing media groups, national broadcasters turned out to be more biased than regional broadcasters.
Of the 60% of the derogatory news pieces, one in five articles highlighted either terrorism or extremism and somehow linked it with Muslims.
The Spectator, a British weekly magazine, published the most news pieces that painted a negative image of Islam and Muslims, with 37% of its articles published from 2018 to 2020 categorized as “defamatory.”
On the other hand, The New Statesman, a London-based weekly magazine, published the most news pieces that painted a positive image of Islam, with 16% of its articles published during the same period categorized as “supportive.”
Finally, the study also made a number of recommendations for the British print and electronic media groups in order to stop portraying a negative picture of Islam and Muslims among UK citizens.
Some of the recommendations are:
- Avoid linking Islamic beliefs to crime, terrorism, and extremism.
- Increase representation of Muslims in editorial positions.
- Avoid referencing Islam and Muslims unless they are related to any development.
- Offer training to journalists to raise awareness regarding religious bias.
- Avoid using generic images of Muslims to prevent reinforcing stereotypes.
- Exercise serious care when using different technologies.
- Publish timely corrections with equal weight to the original story.
Good to know true face of British liers