Hezbollah Supportive of Egyptian, Tunisian Uprisings But Not Syria’s
As protesters demanded the ouster of authoritarian leaders in Egypt and Tunisia, Hezbollah’s TV station, al-Manar, broadcast images and reports supportive of the demonstrators. But as one of the few media outlets allowed inside Syria to cover its uprising during the last two months, al-Manar has portrayed protesters there in a very different light.
Yasmine Dabbous, assistant professor of journalism and media studies at the Lebanese American University (LAU) says this apparent double standard has to do with the organization’s relationship with the governments in these countries.
“In Egypt, it is very well known that Hezbollah had problems with the Egyptian government, so they supported the uprising against it - against Mubarak,” noted Dabbous. “In Syria, on the other hand, they are supportive of the Assad regime, and so the coverage of the events is framed differently.”
Professor Dabbous says there are several ways to portray an event and biases can show through, for example, through who reporters interview, how they edit video and by leaving out some facts and emphasizing others.