Sri Lanka is experiencing a political crisis that has crippled its economy like it has never before. To voice their opposition to the current corrupt regime, Sri Lankans have taken to the streets and protested against the all-powerful dynasty responsible for the economic and social downfall of their nation. Despite the dire and stressful situation, Sri Lankans have maintained a sense of discipline while they peacefully hold up their placards in front of their faces at protest sites. Violence has been at a minimum even when provoked by the police, save for a few incidents. The overall message is one that should be written in history as a prime example of maintaining one’s dignity even in times of crisis. However, the New York Times took a different approach.
Despite violence being displayed at a minimum, the NY Times issued a piece covering the situation in Sri Lanka with a bunch of fiery pictures depicting destructiveness. Out of the many pictures of teenagers holding up placards and parents exposing their young families to a historic revolution, they chose the one time a Rajapaksa supporter set fire to a bus.Â
Instead of focusing on impactful decisions taken by governments, like the ousting of former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, Western news corporations prefer to focus on mediocre and juicy celebrity gossip. CNN’s Instagram feeds show no trace of the bomb blasts in Afghanistan, but are sprinkled with information on Will Smith’s personal life, and other people’s cosmetic surgery decisions. The reason has a lot to do with viewership. The average Western person may be complacent in their upbringing and is unlikely to click on a piece headlining a crisis in a country they have never even heard of. They are, however, very likely to want to know inside news on James Corden leaving his talk show. Yellow news is what sells. However, the role of news corporations is not to entertain, but to inform.Â
In order to keep up with their role in society and make a profit out of their propaganda, media corporations are forced to adapt to keep up with the ever-growing complacency of their viewers, thus leading to them sensationalizing simple but important issues to give people the impression of it being as juicy as a celebrity scandal. The average American teenager is unfortunately not going to click on a picture of a family sitting holding up signs that call out corrupt governments. On the other hand, a picture of a man holding up a burning bread loaf on a stick while fire engulfs all that is behind him will trick the viewer into clicking on it. Violence, racism, homophobia, and misogyny, while horrifying, are subjects that pique the interest of many.
That needs to stop.
It is very easy to blame news corporations for over-exaggerating news. However, we would be lying to ourselves if we said that we never clicked on celebrity gossip and solely focused on international politics. The problem is with all of us. While our complacency may have led to the media stooping down to new lows in their desperation to garner views, it is equally likely that a small-minded media tycoon paid his journalists and presenters to over-exaggerate news to increase their profits. There is no point in trying to figure out who the villain is. It would be better for all of us if future journalists refrain from sensationalizing information for money. It would also be better if we, as viewers, give media corporations a reason to stop over-exaggerating things and boycott their clickbait. As consumers, we have control over them. We just need a little self-control ourselves