ReutersYesterday, the harrowing image of a dead refugee child who washed up on a Turkish beach was plastered on the front page of every news outlet in Britain, and for once, they were doing their job correctly.
The photo of the lifeless Syrian child, which has since shocked the nation, perfectly encapsulates the unthinkable risks that refugees are currently taking to reach the west – and that’s the exact message newspapers across the country broadcasted.
But why has it taken THIS long? Why have we had to wait for the death of an innocent child for the British press to change their mind? Thousands have been consistently dying in the water that divides us for years, including children, yet these very people have been constantly demonised by the newspapers that are today, asking why this tragedy is happening.
Some of today's national front pagesThe man who is being blamed for the whole situation, David Cameron, has had a whole host of newspapers propping him up since the start of the crisis. These are the very papers that have been spinning the situation from the start. The very papers that have called for border control while simultaneously demonising every single human being that have had no option but to flee their country.
In a nutshell, what the tabloids have done is create mass hysteria to a point where even our Prime Minister thinks that it’s bad PR to help innocent children and their families. Then, when the opportunity arises to make a quick buck, the tables are turned and high horses are jumped upon in their droves.
Yes, this is common knowledge. The media have been doing this for years – but this time it’s different. These are the same newspapers that have, in recent times, sensationalised the migrant crisis in such a way that they are partly to blame for the “inhumane” actions of the EU towards it – and now they have completely backtracked in the most hypocritical of fashions. You are in their palm, and they couldn’t care less.
British papers will use the image of a dead child to sell issues and in the same minute turn around and call these people a swarm.
— Leigh Meyer (@LeighJaneyMeyer) September 3, 2015
The British press demonising migrantsOnce British journalists face up to the fact that some of these refugees are dying because of the way they and their bosses are portraying them, we may be on our way to having a unified press that can actually do some good.
But until then, they will continue to spin the story ONLY to provoke your emotions. So when you hand over that 40p every morning, just remember you are being sold the best possible story. Wake up.
This morning, a petition calling for the government to help these people reached 100,000 signatures in a very short space of time.
This very call-to-action will now be officially addressed in Parliament.
