Weima: AFSC on Violent Extremism & the Media

Wes Weima, our Quaker rep on the PeaceQuest Faith Stream, has encouraged us to share this report on the reporting of violent extremism in the media. We hope you’ll share it in your classrooms and discussions of peace and be thinking about it when watching the news. Thanks Wes for bringing this to our attention!

The report “Mixed Messages: How the Media Covers Violent Extremism and What You Can Do About It” is a statistical analysis of how major news organisations in the United States represent violence and responses to violence. The document highlights the ways in which news-media enables the continued reproduction of violence in the ways they report on violence. This includes perpetuating Islamaphobia, framing extremist groups as “inherent military targets,” and only reporting on violent responses to violence. The study is published by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace and advocacy NGO.