Making A World of Difference: How Human Rights Shape The Al Jazeera Story
manipulate and distort information to suit their political objectives. Al Jazeera Media Network makes a world of difference and over the years its professionalism has been rewarded with scores of international journalism prizes, but its reputation is also built on courageous endeavour, particularly the sacrifice and risks taken by its journalists and staff. Since its launch, 11 Al Jazeera Media Network staff and journalists have been killed in conflict zones; others have been detained, harassed, prosecuted on fabricated charges, or forced to leave their home countries. Its offices and its journalists have been attacked and often deliberately targeted. The enemies of press freedom have been relentless in their efforts to stifle its voice, precisely because its focus on democratic reform and respect for human rights resonates with people on the ground. This opposition came to a head in 2017 in a dispute between Qatar and four regional rivals, who issued an extraordinary call for the network to be completely closed down. That demand remains in place. Even the United States, which in the 2000s criticised the network and targeted its journalists over relentless and robust coverage of American wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the wider “war on terror” softened its tone.
Making A World of Difference: How Human Rights Shape The Al Jazeera Story Aidan White | Founder of the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN)
On the 10th anniversary of the launch of Al Jazeera I wrote that the network was a phenomenon the world must learn to live with. Now, 15 years later, the world has come to terms with this upstart, trail- blazing network which is now firmly established in the leadership of global journalism. Al Jazeera has been witness to seismic changes in the past 25 years. The ending of the Cold War; shifting centres of political and corporate power; peoples’ revolutions in the Arab world; and a digital whirlwind of change that has reshaped the communications and media landscape.
And Al Jazeera has risen to the challenge. Through a mix of pioneering reporting, laced with style and commitment to professionalism and human rights, it has brought the voice of the street into the newsroom and carved out an international reputation for fearless story-telling, focusing on the realities of a world divided by social and economic injustice. Across its many platforms it also confronts the threat posed by “fake news”, online disinformation and the propaganda of presidents, prime ministers and political figures who routinely lie or try to fool,
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