ENORB, COMPLAINT TO LE VIF ABOUT COVID-19 MUSLIM IMAGE
Our Belgium partner ENORB contacted Le Vif to complain about an article which chose an image of women wearing veilS on an article about Covid-19, suggesting the two were linked:
“Hello,
Our ENORB organization is a partner for the Get The Trolls Out project.
Our mission is to identify articles containing discriminatory or stereotypical anti-religious statements, stigmatizing, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic or anti-Christian.
In this regard, we have noted an “incident” article published below yesterday, June 18, 2020:
https://www.levif.be/actualite/international/coronavirus-la-resurgence-sous-controle-en-chine-mais-c fear-d-une-hausse-exponentielle-de-cas-en-asie-du- sud / article-news-1301853.html? utm_medium = social_vif & utm_source = Facebook & fbclid = IwAR27qkccpdezaibzEd64ZTp_K6ydZOq_Q2qYBfANn7PvJcGfRZ23PhqGFBQ # Ech9924obox = 159250
We note that the photo chosen to illustrate your article represents Muslim women wearing a veil and associated with the “exponential fear of cases” of coronavirus, which can mislead readers and imply, although indirectly, a link between these women and the resurgence of the virus.
It is likely that the person responsible for choosing this image did not consciously choose it to convey this negative narrative; however, this is precisely the problem. The media need to be more aware of the images they choose and their impact.
We hope for a modification of the photo to illustrate this article and remain available to support efforts for more accurate editing reflexes and iconographic choices.
Best regards,”
