I’ve pointed out before that CNN’s coverage of other wars is sorely lacking in both volume and detail when compared to its coverage of Gaza. This is clearly illustrated by the war in Yemen.
On Wednesday AP wrote that Yemeni officials reported “fighting kicked off at dawn Wednesday in the cities of Ibb, Aden, Taiz, Marib, Dhale and the Houthi stronghold of Saada, killing nearly 100 people, including many civilians.” That’s just in one day.
Thursday morning I watched for coverage on CNN. I watched for about 45 minutes and saw no coverage of Yemen, and then moved on to other parts of my day. Then I saw this response to my tweet from CNN anchor Chris Cuomo:
https://twitter.com/MiraWard375/status/614028933604986880
So I rewound a bit and watched (thanks DVR). Here is what Cuomo said on CNN’s New Day:
We also want to give you news of what is going on abroad. The situation in Yemen demands attention and is getting worse. The UN special envoy for Yemen said the nation is now on the edge of famine. 80% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. That is over 30 million people. Officials say without a ceasefire, that situation is going to get worse.
That’s it. I timed it. Less than 30 seconds.
No direct mention of the cause of the dire situation – Saudi Arabia, a US ally and oil supplier, fighting an Iranian-backed faction. No mention of 100 people who died Wednesday, or whether they were civilians or fighters, children or adults. No talking heads giving their endless spin.
Compare this to coverage of Gaza last summer. You literally could not turn on CNN without seeing endless loops of pictures of the injured, and pundits and politicians, including representatives of Hamas, giving their point of view. I seem to recall Marc Lamont Hill actually crying on air, while spouting the absolute falsehood that the people of Gaza have “never had a single day of self-determination.” The dead and starving in Yemen are given lip service, but once again, CNN has proven that Israel, and only Israel, is The Most Important Story On Earth.
The disproportionate coverage of the war in Gaza, as compared to coverage of other wars, fosters the misperception among the public that the IDF is an exceptionally brutal army. The truth, of course, is the exact opposite. This misperception in turn fuels hostility to Israel in many forms, including the anti-Semitic and discriminatory movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel.
I’ll gratuitously add that Chris Cuomo happens to be one of my favorite anchors, and I do think that he makes a genuine effort to get things right, not just in this area but in general. In this case, however, I think he missed. By a lot.
