Innocent Mistakes A Controversial Film Finds Journalism Caught Between Image and Reality INNOCENT MISTAKES About the authors: Danica Ilic is web editor for Media Diversity Institute and a freelance journalist with the BBC World Service Anser Hassan is an American journalist currently completing a masters degree at the London School of Economics Kamal Siddiqi is Editor of the Pakistan English daily newspaper Express-Tribune Beatrice White is a journalist and desk editor with Hürriyet Daily News in Istanbul Editor: Aidan White Design: Milos Petrov Published by EJN, May 14th 2013. CONTENTS SUMMARY BACKGROUND UNITED STATES: FOCUS ON THE FOREIGN ANGLE Anser Hassan UNITED STATES: MEDIA BIAS AND THE ANTI-ISLAM MESSAGE Danica Ilic UNITED KINGDOM: MEDIA CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE Danica Ilic PAKISTAN: POLITICAL INTERFERENCE AND TWO FACES OF MEDIA Kamal Siddiqi TURKEY: LIMITED PROTEST AND RAGING DEBATE Beatrice White CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS INNOCENT MISTAKES Summary This report reviews media coverage of the Innocence of Muslims, a short film trailer produced by a religious activist and distributed over the Internet, which became the spark for protest and violence across the globe and leading to at least 75 deaths. film Innocence of Muslims Still photo from the Still photo from 4 SUMMARY The film was, by all accounts, a low- for instance, some politicians openly Many responsible budget and amateurish production encouraged violence and endorsed media sought yet it was given enormous publicity the provocative hate speech found in balance in their and was used to reinforce deep some sections of media. reporting and tried divisions between western and to correct their Muslim religious cultures. This report, based upon extensive errors, but many interviews with journalists, academics more did not. Coverage of the film has raised and media leaders, is narrowly focused concerns about the influence of and looks at coverage of the film deeply-embedded stereotypes in in a number of sample countries - media reporting. In this case editorial the United States, United Kingdom, failings, albeit inadvertently, may Pakistan and Turkey - all of them have reinforced prejudice and places where terrorism and religious misunderstanding. extremism has left its mark. The report highlights major editorial The report concludes that: mistakes including failure to establish the truth about the film’s origins; the • Online media and social networks uncorrected circulation of false infor- reinforced the impact of media mation about the film; a lamentable mistakes and played a significant role lack of reporting of voices calling for in circulating false information in the peaceful and non-violent protest; first days of the crisis. Although there and a general failure to provide were many instances of restraint context which explained the reasons and caution, both online and offline, for violence and who was behind it. there was a general failure to correct these damaging initial impressions; Many responsible media sought balance in their reporting and tried • Additionally, in the United States to correct their errors, but many more and the United Kingdom, media did not. In some countries, Pakistan may have exaggerated the strength 5 INNOCENT MISTAKES of feeling in response to the film in • Create a global databank of the Muslim community. Media in media best practices to help both countries struggled to provide journalists avoid hate speech and to balance in their coverage and failed strengthen levels of professionalism; to provide adequate context to explain the origins of violence; • Establish a specific reporting process that will monitor media in • In Pakistan religious parties and key countries and report annually on extremists dominated the news coverage of incidents of hate speech agenda of mass circulation, local- or acts of false, provocative or uneth- language media while moderate ical journalism particularly in the field Muslim voices in the mainstream of reporting religious affairs or relations were largely marginalized. between different communities; At the same time, senior political • Promote more debate within figures supported actions designed journalism and the wider community to encourage protest and to incite on the need to raise awareness on violence. the dangers of hate speech arising from use of online communications • In Turkey media were largely and social networks; uncritical as government leaders sought to use the controversy to • Encourage more research into build a platform for launching an aspects of media performance that international campaign to strengthen have raised concern in this case laws of blasphemy. including verification of potentially inflammatory information prior to The report also highlights research publication; publication of corrections that shows how minority religious and clarifications of false information; or activist groups from the fringes use of extremist and minority voices; of politics receive disproportionate and the need for media to use more attention in American media. representative and relevant sources to achieve context, balance and It concludes with some recommen- impartiality. dations for raising awareness within media on the dangers of hate speech including proposals to: 6 SUMMARY Finally, although this report is not Above all, it illustrates how journalism exhaustive it highlights failings in must be alert to the dangers of hate media coverage of this controversial speech and the casual manipulation film that should be troubling for of media by unscrupulous political journalists everywhere. It points to groups. the need for accuracy and context in the reporting and analysis of events when they have an impact on the Aidan White fragile relations between different Director cultures and communities. Ethical Journalism Network A p r o t e s t a g a i n s t I n n o c e n c e M u s l i m , i n f r o n t o f t h e U S A e m b a s s y o n S e p t e m b e r 2 2 , 2 0 1 2 . K u a l a L u m p u r ( A m i r R i d h w a n / S h u t t e r s t o c k . c o m ) INNOCENT MISTAKES Background The film Innocence of Muslims came to prominence in July 2012 when it was uploaded to YouTube, the video file-sharing website. Arabic language versions, this time with anti-Islamic content, were added in the first days of September 2012, with post-production dubbing which changed the original dialogue without the actors’ knowledge.1 film Innocence of Muslims Still photo from the Still photo from BACKGROUND The video focused on the persecution blasphemy and became the subject of the Christian Copt community of incendiary comment. It led to in Egypt, with claims of a rise in the issuing of Fatwas - Islamic legal growing religious intolerance and rulings, often misinterpreted as death sectarian violence from the Muslim sentences - against the video’s majority against the Christian group participants and, famously, to one which makes up 10% of the Egyptian government minister in Pakistan population. offering a bounty for the death of the producer. The film was perceived as denigrating Islam and the prophet Mohammed The film was particularly controversial and its Arabic version led to wide- because it was linked with claims spread protests around September 11 reported by leading media such as - the 11th anniversary of the terrorist the Associated Press that it had been attacks on Washington and New financed by 100 Jewish investors. This York - particularly in Egypt, but also report first appeared on September in many other Muslim nations and in 12th 2012. An extensive correction some western countries. was issued two days later. One of those protests, in Benghazi, While the film was eventually revealed was used as a cover by armed terror- to be the work of a Coptic Christian ists for an attack on the American of Egyptian origins, the myth that mission in Libya and the killing of Jews produced and financed the film United States Ambassador J. Chris- in an effort to insult the Prophet topher Stevens and three of his staff. Mohammed and Islam had gone viral. In all, the protests led to hundreds of It provided a spark that militants and injuries and more than 75 deaths. extremist groups used to give fresh momentum to anti-western sentiment The film sparked new debates about across much of the Middle East and free speech, internet censorship and the Islamic world. 1 See http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DUDd6bine9io The film is 13 minutes long and a trailer for a longer film that has never been completed or shown. 9 INNOCENT MISTAKES a A g n a i I n n s d t i t a h n e p a r n o t t i e - I s s t l e a m r k i f c l k m s , a The man responsible was Mark American. He later admitted the film i t The Film’s aim was n a C n h Basseley Youssef, alias Nakoula cost between $50,000 and $60,000 i to insult, provoke e m n a n g Basseley Nakoula, and also known and was shot in a little over 12 days. a confrontation and e i , o I n f d reinforce divisions. as Sam Bacile, the name he used in The money, he said, came from his t i h a e , his discussions with the Associated wife’s family in Egypt. o A In this sense it was of n m S e e r Press. p i use only to a small, c t a e n m f Although media coverage gave narrow community b a e g r 1 o of political activists Two months after the film controversy the impression that this was a major 4 n , a 2 0 w broke Youssef was sent to prison by production, it was nothing of the sort.