An example of news "propaganda"
1-"Human rights occupies a maximum priority in Ben Ali's thought"
(Al-Jomhoriya, April 13th 2007, page 11 pan-Arab affairs)
This is a news report, or this is what the reader might understand, run by the daily state-run Al-Jomhoria on its pan-Arab affairs pages.
The report was published without any indications as to whether it is an advertisement or an editorial, something which makes Egyptian readers or readers in general feel jealous and angry when they see this "piece of propaganda" on the Internet. Their countries don't enjoy, according to that report, the minimum of these magnificent rights the pro-government and widely spread newspaper talked about as it is one of the three mouthpieces of the Egyptian government, described as "national newspapers."
When reading this report (propaganda) in full we figured out that the headline is the weakest link and totally untrue about the situation in Tunisia, which is portrayed in the report as a heaven of democracy and openness, which makes the people of the world wish to immigrate to Tunisia or at least to have the right to residency.
"Those who would contemplate in the path of deepening the freedoms and democracies in Tunisia would find out that path was moving up with every initiative leading to another achievement, this was in correspondence with the political and societal development the Tunisian society saw."
This word-for-word excerpt from the report reveals the conditions the Tunisian people are living within, according to the report, and this is the idea behind publishing this advertisement in that manner so that the reader won't have an idea that this is a paid advertisement, probably written in the Tunisian embassy in Cairo and published on the pan-Arab page without any indication that this report expresses the writer's point of view and his idea about promoting the advertised product i.e." Ben Ali's thought!! "
2- "Kuwaitis pout against Parliament"
This sentence was mentioned in a news story in the national state-run Al-Ahram on Sunday June 3, 2007. "I am sure that colleague Saraya Pasha didn't receive a pay-off from some Kuwaiti perpetrators who seek to spread this image about our democracy on an Arab and international level," said Mohammed Alwasheehy from the Kuwaiti Alrai Alam in a response to what was mentioned in the Egyptian Al-ahram. "What was mentioned in the newspaper was a paid advertisement, it was agreed upon and paid for from Kuwait straight to Egypt and didn't pass on Alahram's office in Kuwait," said Mohammed Yousry Mowafy, head of Alahram's office in Kuwait, in response to what was mentioned in the "Amal" column of Mohammed Alwasheehy under the title "Tamam ya Ahram".(11)
It may have passed lightly.
Certainly Kuwaiti journalists have the right to be enraged after reading this news story on Alahram's pages and they have the right to hit back. We have mentioned a very small part of that report. It was obvious that instead of Mohammed Alwasheehy's harsh article, Alahram's Kuwait's office director wouldn't have explained that it was a paid advertisement.
This incident raises many questions:
1. Would the Kuwaiti activists and journalists become enraged if Alahram indicated clearly that that report which provoked this stand-off is a paid advertisement?
2. Is it always necessary to stir up a problem about a paid advertisement posed as editorial material or a news story, to make the newspaper confess that what it ran as a news story was in fact "a paid advertisement"?
3. What would the Tunisian activist or journalist do if he couldn't find a newspaper or an independent magazine to run his comment on news story published in an Egyptian newspaper while neither him nor anybody else knew that it was "a paid advertisement"?
4. Is this news story which caused this standoff between Kuwaiti journalists and Alahram the only news story or advertisement? Is there an intentional professional error or it is a constant method practiced not only by Alahram but in many Egyptian and Arab newspapers?
5. "Citizenship is the ground of the Democratic project in Tunisia" - the daily Alahrar, the mouthpiece of Alahrar party, ran that headline on April 17, 2006, on page 6, Arab affairs. This news story (advertisement) mentioned without any indication, as it is the case "with slight changes" in other newspapers on different dates. This made us search behind the reasons that led to the publication of this number of advertisements in these newspapers: Alahram, Alaraby, Aljomhorya, Alahrar, Alosbou, as part of an advertising campaign posed intentionally to look like news stories.
Last March, on Tunisian Independence Day, also saw the same methodical campaign, we are wondering right now if the new campaign which ran over a whole week starting from the 10th of April to the 17th of April is a cover for a certain incident?
Was this campaign a cover for a certain incident? HRInfo was following the Tunisian press and the Tunisian media for any exceptional incident that took place that week, and we didn't find an incident worth covering.
Yet we have found a number of incidents that drew our attention. We have mentioned some of these incidents:
"Political prisoners face life-threatening situations"
The National Council of Freedoms in Tunisia issued on April 6, 2007, a statement about a number of prisoners who face torture and others who went on hunger strike in many Tunisian prisons. Those prisoners included Ali Ramzy Baltaiby, Waleed Aloyonee, Gaith Mekky and others.(12)
"Assaults on Tunisian activists, lawyer Tarik Obaidy face threats on his life"
This statement was issued on April 7, 2007 by the National Council for Freedoms in Tunisia about the detention of lawyer Tarik Obaidy and threatening him with a weapon in addition to assaulting the head of the independent press syndicate Lotfi Hajji. He was also prevented from entering the Progressive Democratic party's premises in Aryana to attend an inauguration party, and finally the destruction of the car of a leading figure Fathy Algarby (13) of the conference for the Republic party.
An invitation to journalists to attend a press conference in Cairo about the violations of the freedom of the press and expression in Tunisia
This may be the strongest reason, a press conference to announce the results of the fact-finding mission made by a number of international human rights organizations who are also members of the Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) and of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX). The invitation for the press conference was announced on April 7, 2007 and the report was set to be presented to the public on April 11.
The Tunisian government doesn't take into consideration local Tunisian organizations but pays generously its money and attention to conceal and bar the international reports and statements about the violations that took place in Tunisia, especially regarding the freedom of opinion and expression and the freedom of the press - and to reach this goal it resorts to propaganda concealed under the robes of editorial material.
Does it seem logical for one of the five newspapers which joined in the campaign to run any news about this report in the same time or on the same page which hosted the very same advertisement that talks about Tunisia as the oasis of democracy?
Which is more profitable, to publish a news story or part of a report talking about the violations of freedom of expression and the freedom of press in Tunisia or an advertisement which will bring a lot of money?
We shall leave the answer of these questions to be inferred from these headlines published in the five newspapers:
"The Tunisian woman engaged in political decision making" a total contribution in enriching the societal project and enriching the multi democratic path.
(Rosa Alyosef, a weekly state-run magazine, April 12, 2007)
"Human rights occupy a maximum priority in Ben Ali's thought"
(The daily Aljomhoria, April 13, 2007)
"Tunisia takes the first place in technology usage"
(The daily Alahrar, April 13, 2007)
"United Nations applauds the Tunisian reforms"
Rosa Alyosef, the weekly state-run magazine, April 14, 2007.
"9000 societies in Tunisia contributes to development and enriching the multi-party path"
(The weekly Nasserist Alaraby, April 15, 2007.)
"In its 50th anniversary of independence and the establishment of the personal affairs' magazine, the Tunisian woman pronounces pride of independence's profits and the achievements of reforms"
(The daily Alahram, April 15,2007)
"The Tunisian economy gave dimensions to the goals of national development and confronts effectively the challenges of globalization"
(The daily Alahrar, April 15, 2007)
"The youth… the cornerstone of the independence fortress in Tunisia"
(The daily Alahrar, April 16, 2007.)
"The forign investments, a channel of chances for development in Tunisia"
(The daily Aljomhoria, April 16, 2007)
"After it became an effective part and an essential drive-force, the Tunisian president gives the media sector its due consideration to push for the democratic and multi-party path"
(The independent weekly Al-Osbou, April 16, 2007)
"Citizenship is the ground for the democratic project"
(The daily Alahrar, 17 April, 2007)
The press conference was held on April 11, 2007 and the report was issued and circulated but not one of these newspapers or magazines referred to the report.
Do we have the right to force them to publish that report? We have no right to do so, the editors in every newspaper or magazine are to decide which material they want to run, and they are to decide the editorial policy of the newspaper or the magazine.
Those magazines and newspapers chose the path which complies with their perspective, talking about the youth, women, civil society, economy and the democratic project in Tunisia from the perspective of the Tunisian government or as it is seen by the Tunisian advertiser Osama Romdhani who is deeply entrenched in the foreign communications agency in Tunisia.
The Arab governments intensified a famous rule: "every government has the right to do what it wants with its people" - the newspapers and magazines adhered to that rule and applied it. The Tunisian government is more aware of its people than 16 international and Arab human rights organizations who were members of the Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) at the time and who issued that report.
Is it acceptable to ask those newspapers and magazines not to believe the Tunisian government when it "makes advertisements" about Tunisia, the oasis of democracy, in addition to the fact that the financial gain for publishing these advertisements is very attractive?
If we permit the same latitude to this famous rule or logic, shall we accuse the Egyptian, Syrian or Saudi government of not telling the truth when they make advertisements about the oasis of democracy in their countries? The governments, those newspapers and the advertisements those governments published disguised as "news stories" were telling the truth? While the civil society organizations were dishonest in accusing those governments and adhering to the rights of the people of those countries?
