Nerves, Geneviev Mae P.

Dr. Marie Rose Arong

COMM 10
04 November 2019

What you believe is what you see: the media’s use of the Muslim stereotypes

Stereotyping is an over-generalized assumption about a particular category of

people, a belief that if one person from this group possesses this kind of characteristic,
so does the rest of the members (Cardwell, 1999). Although it is not the proper way of
evaluating one another, people, whether unconscious or intentional, have the tendency
to judge a person based on the group they belong. Stereotyping presented an
incomplete, subjective and, unrealistic or false idea of reality (Maltese Safer Internet
Centre, 2019). People who stereotype might not know the truth on who is this person
they are judging as their only basis are the things they see or hear from other people
who may or may not have an indirect relation to this person (e.g. religion, race, gender,
etc.).

People also create judgments based on what they see in their televisions, news,
social network sites—the media plays a significant role by portraying the stereotypes
that are made by people. It should be said that it is not only media that purveys
stereotypes; people see stereotypes in media because of their personal prejudices and
stereotypes—media just emphasizes them (Uy, 2009). The media has the power to
endorse stereotypes. What the audiences see, hear and understand in the media can
have an effect on their judgment and perception on a certain group of people.

Philippine media is not excluded in the role fueling the stereotypes of some
groups and sectors. Reporting a story through a media platform with a large audience
such as the primetime new programs every weekday is a huge responsibility as
thousands of Filipino households that are watching and getting some information which
they believed to be factual from that program. Aside from presenting the truth, news
reports should also represent certain groups of people objectively, accurately and
without appropriation. However, Muslims, who composed 5.57% of the country’s
population (PSA, 2015), are often placed in a bad light with the media sensationalizing
the news reports that involves their group by promoting the stereotypes that are
associated to their religion and identity. As a result, the audience would feel their
assumptions of who Muslims are based on the stereotypes they made are validated.

An example of which is the ABS-CBN’s new program TV Patrol World and how
they covered the story of the protest that happened on the Israeli embassy in Makati to
stop the attacks on Gaza last January 8, 2009 (Uy, 2009). The protesters, mainly
Filipino Muslims, appealed to the Philippine government to take action, and for the US
and Israeli governments to stop the violence that caused the death of their fellow
Muslims living in the Gaza city. One of the protester and speaker, preacher Ahmad
Barcelon said during his talk, “Marami ang tumawag sa akin na gustuhin nilang
bombahin ang embahadang ito. Ngunit, hindi ko sila pinapahintulutan” (Many have told
me that they want to bomb this embassy. But I didn’t allow them). However, TV Patrol’s
headline for this story was “Pasasabugin ang embahada” (Israeli embassy, threatened
with bombing), and the report’s lead was “Samantala, sumugod sa embahada ng Israel
sa Makati ang mga galit na Muslim. May nagbanta pang pasasabugin daw ang
embahada kapag hindi natigil ang mga pag-atake ng puwersang Israeli sa Gaza city”
(Meanwhile, angry Muslims stormed the Israeli embassy in Makati. Someone even
warned that the embassy will be bombed if Israeli forces do not stop their attacks on
Gaza city).

The protesters, upon seeing this new report, were not happy with how the news
program presented the story. Herbert Docena, one of the protestors and a
representative of the Stop the War Coalition Philippines, wrote an open letter to ABS-
CBN, accussing the network of “crass sensationalism” and “bad journalism”. According
to Docena, the report presented the speaker’s statement out of context as Barcelon did
not threaten to bomb the embassy but the news report says otherwise, and “totally
mischaracterized the nature and intention of [their] actions. Instead of reporting on the
substance of our actions…” (Docena). He also pointed out how the report distorted
what really happened during the protest and sensationalized the story.

Because of how the news was angled and reported, many, including Docena,
were concerned as how the Muslims were portrayed, as it may bolster the stereotypes
people have on Muslims as violent, angry, and irrational terrorists. Media, not only in the
Philippines, have framed Muslims associated with violence and terrorism. Muslims in
the Philippines have since portrayed to be the “other” (Angeles, 2009) and now the
media feeds on that idea.

Since news outlets mostly relies on viewership, added to its tight competition with
rival corporations, they will find different ways on how to grab people’s attention,
regardless if it may alter the perception of viewers on certain issues or people.
Stereotypes are used by the media to sensationalize a story in order to capture more
audience. However, stereotypes can hinder deeper coverage of issues. In this case,
media coverage on the protest lacked in presenting why these people are protesting at
the Israel embassy, but instead is so focused on highlighting those who were protesting.

The media is important as they are the one responsible in conveying messages
to the public. Yet, the news media is neither neutral nor value-free (Lajevardi, 2019). It
shapes attitudes, influences the national discourse, and fuels stereotypes (Brummett,
2014). In the process of social categorization, people are dividing the world into an “us”
versus “them”, thus developing an in-group bias and out-group derogation (Tajfel and
Turner, 1959), with people associating the out-group to the stereotypes they formed.
The ways in which out-groups are represented in media impacts the public’s
perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors towards members of those out-groups, and most
of the time, the media does use the stereotype people have on them.

Media has a huge reach in the society and is used by most people to learn about
their community, the world, and each other. Yet, like the report mentioned beforehand,
media outlets still continue to use and reproduce stereotypes to sensationalize their
stories, which often has an effect on the audiences’ perception. To combat this, it is
essential that people in media are conscious of the impact of distorted stories and how
can it affect not only the audience, but their credibility as a media practitioner. Greater
caution should have been exercised in the choice of framing, angle, words, and visuals;
all for the goal of presenting the news and story accurately. Regardless of what the
news may be, the media should have the desire for peace and justice by shedding light
on issues and providing the right information for the people to know.
 Works Cited

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Brummett, Barry. Rhetoric in Popular Culture. Texas: Sage Publications. 2017. Web.

Cardwell, Mike. Dictionary of psychology. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.1999. Web.

Docena, Herbert. “An Open Letter to TV Patrol Re: Coverage of Protest against Israel's
War on Gaza”. Moro Herald. N.d. Web. 3 Nov 2019.

Lajervardi, Nazita. “The News Media and Portrayals of Muslims Foreign and Domestic”.
Maydan Politics and Society. 9 May 2019. Web. 4 Nov 2019.

Maltese Safer Internet Centre. “Mass media and its influence on stereotypes”. Safer
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Ross, Tara. Media and Stereotypes. The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity, 1–17 (2019).
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"Table 1.10; Household Population by Religious Affiliation and by Sex;

2010" (PDF). 2015 Philippine Statistical Yearbook. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine
Statistics Authority: 1–30. October 2015.Web. 4 Nov 2019.

Tajfel, Henri., and John C. Turner. The social identity theory of intergroup
behavior. Psychology of intergroup relations, 7-24 (1986). Web.

Uy, Debbie. “When the Media Stereotype”. Center for Media Freedom and
Responsibility. 27 Feb 2009. Web. 3 Nov 2019.