China using families as 'hostages' to quash Uyghur dissent abroad
www.bbc.co.uk
Refugees and activists tell the BBC intimidation tactics are tearing apart Uyghur communities overseas.
  • socsa@lemmy.ml
    610·
    1 year ago

    A black and white world where objective measures of press freedoms are apparently inversely proportional to trustworthiness of said journalists.

    Random blog with a Soviet flag? Impossible to be propaganda, because only capitalism can do a propaganda.

    Some of the world’s oldest free media with a long history of investigating the British government? Literally nothing but propaganda.

    • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
      106·
      1 year ago

      A black and white world where objective measures of press freedoms are apparently inversely proportional to trustworthiness of said journalists.

      Oh my god, are you seriously claiming you can objectively measure press freedoms while saying socialists live in a black and white world? Just want to give you a chance to walk back your statement

      • socsa@lemmy.ml
        27·
        1 year ago

        I am quite curious to know your methodology for measuring press freedom so we can compare and perhaps find something which can be considered locally objective.

        • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
          74·
          1 year ago

          You’re retreating into “locally” objective. In this topic you’re not going to get agreement on what constitutes press freedom, so it is pointless. My point is that the claim of objective press freedom existing is ridiculous. You walked it back, but to a position that still seems ridiculous to me.

          For example, I dont believe there is such thing as a free press. Any org that can produce a press machine is going to influence that press, whether that is a government or private interests. Editorial freedom isn’t possible, editorial control just ranges from the subtle to the overt.

          • socsa@lemmy.ml
            14·
            1 year ago

            You are the only one making assumptions here. I want to find some common ground.

            So let’s pull this thread. I agree that bias is inevitable, but do you believe this negates the value of even trying to protect press freedom? And if so, do you extend this to all forms of truth seeking?

            • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
              44·
              1 year ago

              So let’s pull this thread. I agree that bias is inevitable, but do you believe this negates the value of even trying to protect press freedom? And if so, do you extend this to all forms of truth seeking?

              Of course bias is inevitable, Im saying institutional bias will always be enforced down the chain onto journalists and writers.

              Can you give me your definition of press freedom? Because it seems contradictory if the owner of a press will influence what is published but journalists of that press somehow have press freedom.

              • socsa@lemmy.ml
                13·
                1 year ago

                Well so first of all, I don’t consider only corporate or state owned media outlets to be “the press.” But certainly, editorial freedom is a big part of press freedom. One media outlet can only exert editorial control over its own journalists. It cannot force editorial restrictions onto all media the same way a government can. I think this is pretty low hanging fruit when it comes to press freedom - individual bias can be averaged out, but centralized, legally enforced bias cannot. This feels axiomatic to me, but it may not be to others whichbis why I think these conversations are so interesting.

                • OurToothbrush@lemmy.mlM
                  45·
                  1 year ago

                  cannot force editorial restrictions onto all media the same way a government can. I think this is pretty low hanging fruit when it comes to press freedom

                  Yes they can, it is called private (as opposed to personal) property rights enforced by the state. The range of opinion will always be broadly supportive of the capitalist government.

                  Please read inventing reality or manufacturing consent. I am tired and I feel like you aren’t interested in learning, with or without changing your opinion.

                  • socsa@lemmy.ml
                    13·
                    1 year ago

                    I don’t know why you think I have not read those books. I’m quite familiar with both, and agree with many aspects of them. I assure you though, Chomsky is not a press skeptic they way I think you are implying. And not everyone who disagrees with you is ignorant. You are the one shutting down conversation and making accusations.

                    But either way, this is quite easy to back test. Is there no western media you can think of which is critical of Capitalism? Maybe even someone you just cited?

    • fishtacos@lemmy.ml
      76·
      1 year ago

      Wow, what? Communists talk openly about propaganda… You have no idea what you’re talking about.

      We are well aware what our biases are. We are trying to get westerners to see their own biases. Being called out as hypocrites feels like an attack, but when we say everyone have biases, we know it’s true about us too.

      Absorb news from a wide variety of sources, including sources from other countries, and you’ll see that the BBC is in fact biased against China.

      It takes time, and reading a lot, and you won’t get it from Lemmy/Reddit/twitter(or X or whatever now)/FB. Even ground news only has so many sources. And you know what, the BBC does great coverage for a lot of things, they are a pretty high quality source for a lot of news. But yeah, everyone has biases, and the BBC is biased against China.