“Whoever owns the money, owns the media”
(Buenos Aires, Argentina)
It’s easy to fall for misinformation about people or situations not geographically close to you, because all you can learn and see about them is through TV and other media, which is often biased. A prime example is the media coverage in South American countries such as Argentina, which has been centralised and biased towards Israel.
The Argentinian media is one of the most corrupt on the continent, owned by wealthy individuals who write only about topics they would like readers to empathize with and support. They show only one side of the story — that of kidnapped Israelis whose lives matter way more to them than the 40,000+ Palestinians killed by Israel since October 7th.
Infobase is one of the main media streams in Argentina, and everything they cover is Israeli-centered. However, some independent journalists are trying to cover the other side of the story, writing about the suffering in Gaza.
I sat with an Argentinean United Nations activist, who has in-depth knowledge about the situation in Gaza and media ownership. He talked about coverage of the Palestinian suffering, and he said “Fatal and absent, I would say. It is a very heavy subject here.” He continued: “There is pressure from the Jewish community, and it becomes really unbearable. But it has to be done. Unfortunately, the metrics indicate that if it is not pro-Israel, in Argentina nobody sees it. Very sad.”
Biased media yields a general ignorance
La Nación is another of the top media streams that is known for its center-right editorial stance. Its political and ideological leanings often influence its coverage of international events, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. La Nación reports predominantly from the Israeli perspective.
La Nación covers Israeli military actions or government policies extensively without equally addressing the impact on Palestinian communities, and can be seen as disproportionately favoring the Israeli perspective. For instance, reporting on Israeli military operations in Gaza without corresponding coverage of civilian casualties and destruction in Gaza. La Nación also publishes Israeli government claims without ever clarifying that those claims cannot be independently verified, because Israel does not allow international journalists into Gaza.
A pro-Palestinian UN Activist, Maria (pseudonym) said, “The Jewish community in Argentina is very powerful and very rich.” In a nutshell: “Whoever owns the money, owns the narrative. It's about power.”
The media is controlled by powerful players who only display what they want to be seen. For example, they have covered only the perspective and claims of Israel and kidnapped Israelis; nothing about the thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians who were bombed, kidnapped, starved, jailed and tortured just because they are Palestinians.
Right now, there is a general lack of public knowledge in Latin America about the war in Gaza.
Maria said, “A lot has to do with ignorance and distance, multiplied by their concerns about local problems: economy, inflation, how to make it to the end of the month financially.”
Getting accurate and unbiased information can be challenging since few voices cover the Palestinian side.
She said, “Citizens need to first be aware and be willing to educate themselves. Then I guess common sense and basic humanity will drive them to demand accountability and call out media outlets.” Particularly with the current devastation of Gaza, many in the US and Europe are leveling such criticism at the BBC, NYTimes, the Guardian and CNN, among others.
Maria added, “It would be illogical to say that all Argentinians support one side without a reason. The main problem is ignorance.”
Ignorance plays a major role in shaping people’s perspectives.
She continued, “I don’t think the vast majority of Argentinians are evil and zionist and truly pro-Israel. I think they are profoundly ignorant about what is going on.”
Latin America is just one continent among others dealing with the problem of biased news and misleading information. There are innumerable media outlets in the world controlled by big political parties and rich and powerful people. Power allows them to get and sustain power by showing people only one side of stories, making it impossible for the public to truly understand what is happening. Hence, it becomes easier for them to sympathize with one side and support it blindly — in this case, without learning about Palestinian history, understanding both sides of the conflict, and seeing the full picture.
The presence of independent journalists and activists who speak about the problem and report comprehensive and unbiased news is critical in raising awareness in the country and on the continent.
