(Clearwisdom.net) The media has played a key role as an accomplice in the huge calamities brought about by Fascist and Communist regimes, affecting millions of people worldwide. The role of the media under Communism or Fascism is to indoctrinate through brainwashing and propaganda and to incite hatred of targeted groups. Such media is very unusual and unique in terms of its function and impact on people. It can be used as a political tool in a massive persecution movement. Its power and damage can be huge, so there should be a mechanism to monitor and evaluate its conduct and operation.

It is a serious criminal act to misuse the media to incite persecution. But in a dictatorship, such criminal behavior can be carried out without opposition. Media can report fabricated information as fact and launch a smear campaign to spread hatred and violence towards groups of people.

It is not clear a this point how to evaluate and analyze the conduct and nature of the media that report fabricated information and launch persecution under dictatorships. In other words, people are not immune to it and are often unable to detect its criminal intent.

There is also no relevant frame of reference, international law or pact to evaluate, condemn, sanction or even ban such media behavior. Because of this, a propaganda machine under the control of a dictatorship can freely instigate and spread untruths without any fear of the rule of law.

From another perspective, when the world is aware of the power of media propaganda, the media does not dare to directly commit crimes. Its role becomes more indirect and its deadly consequences more hidden. With its criminal acts more covert, its damage is more difficult to detect and recognize. It is also harder for people to recognize the seriousness of media crimes and how to guard against them. Actually, the resulting impact of the evil propaganda is even greater than the initial crime.

Since 1999 the Chinese Communist Party has once more utilized its state propaganda machine against its own people in the suppression of Falun Gong.

To protect mankind's human rights, it is of paramount importance to identify and analyze the nature of media behavior and to educate people with such knowledge so that they will have the ability to detect and analyze it themselves. Such a strategy would seek to avoid the propaganda tragedies of the past, which were not restricted by ideology or law. This endeavor would also expose the criminal act of media propaganda.

We therefore propose to set up an international organization to watch over the media. Such an organization would safeguard the fairness of media use, monitor the use of the media, and publicize its evaluation of the media's conduct.

Such an international organization would work:

1.To analyze and define the nature of a media group. Is it a free media or a brainwashing tool controlled by a dictator?

2. To publicize a daily media analysis and evaluation report, including media truthfulness and whether it caused any damage or negative impact.

3. To publicize, expose and condemn any untrue or harmful information reported by a media group.

4. To praise and honor excellent reporting and its contribution to honest media coverage.

5. To set up a data bank to record both honest and criminal media behavior in order to evaluate and analyze and to compile statistics and be able to search.

6. To publicize its daily and annual media evaluation report.

This international organization will act as a platform to expose and record crimes committed by a media group under the control of an evil dictatorship. This alone can frighten perpetrators who want to utilize the media as a tool and helps people understand the evil nature of such behavior.

Such a watchdog organization would help people to understand the problems associated with the inappropriate use of media. In this way, the organization would promote a common understanding so that a standard system can be established that will evaluate, define and analyze media conduct. Furthermore, a relevant international accord and legal system might also be set up in order to stop the inappropriate use of media. People under a dictatorship could then be immune to such inappropriate use of media. When a dictatorship utilizes the media to brainwash its people, the people would be better able to recognize and evaluate such behavior and therefore be able to suspect, question, and oppose such behavior. This way, those who want to use the media to commit crimes will face obstacles, and the recurring disasters due to inappropriate use of the media will be prevented.

When people have a correct understanding of the nature of the People's Daily newspaper and CCP-TV, and when they possess the ability to properly evaluate this conduct, they are better able to detect and resist false information from the Chinese Communist media. Then people will clearly see the truth of the persecution of Falun Gong and, in the end, eliminate the poisonous effects of the media.

Posting date: 6/25/2005
Original article date: 6/25/2005
Category: Practitioners' Insights
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/6/14/104026.html

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