Racist Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine War in Belgium and Poland, Islamophobic Narratives Spread by German, Hungarian, Belgian and British Media and Anti0muslim Fake News Published in Greece.
In February’s media monitoring, we saw racist coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war in Belgium and Poland. A Hungarian news site minimised the threat of the far-right in Germany, whilst in Germany itself, the far-right attacked Muslims for not opposing Covid-19 measures. A French presidential candidate touted the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, and a Belgium news site has been promoting the Islamophobic narratives of the Vlaams Belang party. In the UK, a conservative news blog has attacked the BBC for hiring a Muslim editor and in Greece, fake news was published by a far-right tabloid attacking Muslims.
Belgium – Public broadcaster downplays racism at the Polish-Ukrainian border
A fact-checking article by the Belgian public service media RTBF downplayed the incidents of racist discrimination experienced by African and Indian students perpetrated by Ukrainian authorities at the border with Poland.
While on the same day of the publication of this article, many other news media denounced how foreign students fleeing Ukraine were facing segregation, RTBF reported about these incidents with scepticism. RTBF said that “this narrative must be analysed with caution because it corroborates, at least in part, one of the arguments put forward by Vladimir Putin to launch his ‘military action’ against Ukraine.”
The article implies that those suffering discrimination at the border, and denouncing it on social media, validate the Russian president's narrative.
Such reporting of the racism experienced by people escaping war in Ukraine is unethical. It undermines the lived experience of some refugees as if racism was not worth mentioning in the context of a war. It also overlooks the reality of Europe's historical racism by connecting those claims to Russian propaganda.
Hungary – Pro-government publication minimises the threat of far-right attacks in Germany
The pro-government news site 888.hu published an article condemning the German Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser for saying that children from pre-school age should learn about the dangers of right-wing extremism.
Titled “German politicians would only protect pre-schoolers from right-wing radicals,” the piece attacked Faeser for not including “the dangers of left-wing extremism and Islam.” The author severely downplayed the threats of the far right in Germany, calling it “hysteria” and claiming that these attacks have been decreasing.
This is false, because crimes by right-wing extremists are currently at the highest level since records began in 2001.
The source used by 888.hu for the article, the far-right conspiracy website Summit News, is also not reliable. In Hungary, pro-government media outlets such as 888.hu spin news from Western Europe with the goal of endorsing the government’s anti-Muslim and anti-migration agenda.
Belgium – News site acts as a loudspeaker of the Flemish nationalist party Vlaams Belang
Belgian daily Nieuwsblad published an article that amplified the political views of the Flemish nationalist party, Vlaams Belang.
The piece repeated the party’s inflammatory and hateful statements blaming Muslims for Antwerp’s problems. These remarks include, “Islam is the city’s cancer” and “Islam is being pampered in Antwerp, and all kinds of multi-cultural non-profit organisations and diversity projects are generously subsidised with our tax money.” Acting as a loudspeaker for the anti-Muslim party, Nieuwsblad uncritically presented Vlaams Belang’s plan for a public inquiry.
This journalistic reporting, with no additional research and contextualisation, is harmful because it presents extremist political views as facts, undermines the value of community building diversity initiatives and normalises the stigmatisation of the Muslim population in Belgium.
Poland - Far-right YouTube channel wRealu24 attacks Muslim refugees fleeing the Russia-Ukraine war
The far-right online TV channel wRealu24 continues to spread anti-Muslim and anti-migrant narratives.
On 28th February 2022, the episode: ‘Urgent! War in Ukraine!’ hosted by Lucyna Kulińska, a historian who specialises in Poland-Ukraine relations and is currently spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda.
Using highly derogatory language, Kulińska condemned the arrival of “newcomers from Afghanistan, from Senegal and various other countries”, claiming they are profiting from the fact that Poland has opened its borders to people fleeing Ukraine. The historian wrongly claims that most people entering Poland are non-white and calls for this crossing “to be immediately stopped.” Kulińska referred to a video where a man, whom she claims comes from a Muslim country, was “using a knife to stop women and children from entering the train” and calling “his buddies and ladies wearing burkas to get on the train.”
The historian’s allegations claim the opposite of what the UN and other trustworthy media outlets have been reporting, that African, Middle-Eastern, and South Asian students are facing discrimination and racism at the Ukrainian borders. This inflammatory depiction of refugees is extremely dangerous as it can create anxiety and fear, fuelling hatred and violence against those seeking asylum.
France – Centre-right presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse uses the Great Replacement narrative in political speech
On the 13th February 2022, Valérie Pécresse, presidential candidate for the centre-right party, Les Républicains, and current president of the Îles de France region, used the Great Replacement conspiracy narrative at a national political rally.
During the presentation of her political manifesto, she said: ‘Will we be a united nation or an exploded nation? Facing those vital questions, no fatality, nor the great downgrading nor the Great Replacement!’ This conspiracy narrative alleges that white, Christian Europeans are at risk of being destroyed and replaced through migration, low white birth-rates, and violence. This myth also often contains antisemitic narratives that blame ‘globalist Jewish elites’ for mass migration.
By referring to this conspiracy narrative, Pécresse was trying to divert votes from the far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour, to support her candidacy. Politicians, especially on a national level, have the power to influence the population.
Therefore, referring to the Great Replacement at a political rally, during the race for France presidency, is particularly dangerous because it legitimises the beliefs behind this conspiracy narrative, which has inspired terrorist attacks worldwide. Including, the mosque shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.
The fact that this conspiracy narrative was used by a centre-right politician reveals how it is expanding in the political spectrum and being normalised in French society.
Germany – Right-wing populist news blog blames Muslims for not attending demonstrations against COVID-19 measures
The right-wing populist news blog Ansage published an article blaming Muslims for not attending the protests against the COVID-19 measures.
Titled “The strange silence of Muslims on the COVID measures”, the piece claims that a wide and representative portion of the population of Germany is attending the demonstrations, except for Muslims. This claim, which is not based on any evidence, is then used to attack Muslims through derogatory language, harmful stereotypes, and conspiracy ideologies.
The author falsely states there is a connection between Muslims in Germany not caring about COVID-19 measures and not seeing the country as their home, wrongly accusing them of "living in parallel societies”.
Not only does this article reproduce Islamophobic narratives claiming that Muslim women are submissive and Muslim men don't respect the law, but at its core, it blames Muslims for a supposed incompatibility of German and Muslim identity and culture. Studies have demonstrated the opposite. In 2017, the Bertelsmann Foundation found that 96 percent of Germany's 4.7 million Muslims felt connected to German society but they are not accepted, with nearly 20 percent of Germans saying they would not want Muslim neighbours.
UK – Conservative news blog disparages the BBC for hiring a religion editor of Muslim faith
The news blog Conservative Woman published an article attacking the recent appointment of journalist Aleem Maqbool as the new BBC Religion Editor, on the basis of his faith. The article, titled "Surprise, surprise! Next BBC Religion Editor is yet another Muslim," used a sarcastic tone to suggest that the hiring of Maqbool was due to favouritism towards Muslim British Asians.
The author, retired Presbyterian Minister, Dr Campbell Campbell-Jack, accused the BBC of being biased against Christianity, going as far to say that it is a “deliberate expression of the scorn which those in the upper echelons of the BBC hold towards Christianity and the British values which come from it”. He also claimed that the BBC’s agenda wants to exclude the voices of most Christian license fee payers.
Furthermore, the piece claims that the British public broadcaster is “normalising” Islam in Britain, when in fact, Muslims remain a minority. The narrative presented in this article is not only discriminatory, because it attacks an editor on religious grounds, but harmful because it rejects the urgent need for a fair religious coverage and diversity in the media.
A 2021 study by the Reuters Institute of the University of Oxford revealed that there isn’t any non-white, top editors in the UK.
Greece – Far-right daily uses fake photo to attack Muslims in Athens
On the 22nd February 2022, the Greek daily far-right tabloid Makeleio published a highly inflammatory article titled, "THE ULTIMATE DISGRACE!!!!! This happened on a bus in Patissia...”.
The article showed a photo of a man kneeling to pray on a bus, which Makeleio alleged was taken in the Athens’ neighbourhood of Patissia. This photo is actually from 2016, or before, and was taken on a bus in Istanbul. Makeleio uses the image as false evidence to vilify Muslims living in the Greek capital, claiming that Muslims praying on buses is due to the government’s open borders and inaction against undocumented immigrants.
This highly Islamophobic article spreads harmful lies and misinformation about the Muslim community in Greece and the government’s policies. The sensationalistic headline, explicitly attacking Muslims, includes an insult written in upper-case letters and claims that they are a threat to Greek society.
