The Ethical Dilemmas of Reporting on Racism and Prejudice Groups
Situation definition:
The United States continues to grow in racial and ethnic diversity. Despite this growth, minorities and minority communities still struggle with the effects of lack of representation, white supremacy ideals, and hate groups that continue to corrupt America with their racist and prejudices propaganda. While the groups like the “alt-right”, “white supremacists”, and “Neo-Nazis” have been around for years, it has always been a struggle to make ethical decisions when reporting on these groups because it is such a heavy topic. With what seems to me, to be an increase in the presence and boldness of white supremacists and neo-Nazi organizations, the discussion on how to ethically report on hate groups has become even more important as of late.
Analysis:
There are two big ethical discussions at play when we analyze the issues that come with journalists covering and reporting on hate groups like Neo Nazi’s and white supremacists.
While there are two ethical issues at play here, it can be said that they are two sides of the same coin. When exploring the ethical issues of reporting on neo-Nazi and White Supremacist groups, there is a debate on whether groups like these should even be covered by the media at all. There are two sides to this argument. One says that giving hate groups a media platform of any kind is a bad thing; while the opposing side argues that these kinds of hate groups and the rallies that they hold, need to be reported on so the rest of the population is informed on the issue.
An Immense ethical question journalists face when reporting on hate groups deals with the idea that reporting on neo-Nazi organizations gives them an undeserved and unnecessary spotlight that could possibly be used to help them spread their agenda. While it is clear that reporters and journalist are ethically right to call out and criticism hate groups for their intolerance, there is an argument to be made that giving them media attention at all, even if it is condemning their agenda, is a bad thing because it is giving them a spotlight to stand in. In an interview with NPR, Karen Bates says “I think they have to weigh whether or not you’re normalizing these groups by affording them the same space and the same time as legitimate news”(Singh, 2018).
On the opposite end of the spectrum, not reporting on hate groups like neo-Nazis and white supremacists could be considered to be a disservice to the public. One journalist has weighed the pros and cons of reporting on hate groups and says that “Its tougher for them to operate under the radar,” The community knows them, the police know them and it makes it tougher for them to get away with a lot of what they are trying to do” (Walker, 2017). So while covering hate groups does give them a platform and could possibly help them with recruiting sympathizers to their cause, it also shines a harsher spotlight on their indecent activity
Conclusion:
It seems that the issue of reporting on hate groups is a double edge sword. While reporting on hate groups gives them undeserved media attention, not reporting on them could be just as bad due to that fact that the public is not informed about these issues, so we are essentially closing our eyes to the problem at hand. From writing and researching the ethical issues of this topic I have come to the conclusion that maybe the better question to ask is not if we should report on hate groups, but how journalists should report on hate groups without sensationalizing them.
References:
Walker, D. (2017). DOCUMENTING WHITE SUPREMACY. PDN; Photo District News, 37(11), 20-20,22. Retrieved from http://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/loginurl=https://search-proquest- com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/1968047411?accountid=13158
Singh, L. (2018, August 12). How The Media Covers White Supremacists. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/08/12/638018004/how-the-media-covers-white-supremacists