media 1 May 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Victim or Culprit: Journalists' Dual Role in Conflict and Peace
On World Press Freedom Day, journalists are urged to examine if their work promotes peace or escalates wars, amid high casualties in Gaza and Lebanon. The piece contrasts frontline reporters killed in action with those in safe newsrooms whose biased reporting fuels violence. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/oped/columnists/charles-onyango-obbo/victims-vs-culprits-the-two-types-of-journalists-5443060
World Press Freedom Day falls on May 3, offering a moment for journalists and media enthusiasts to assess the industry’s direction. This year’s focus, ‘Shaping a Future at Peace: Promoting Press Freedom for Human Rights, Development, and Security,’ resonates amid global conflicts, especially in the Middle East.
Frontline journalists have suffered immensely. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports over 260 media workers killed in Gaza since October 2023, marking the deadliest period in decades. In Lebanon, at least 27 have died in Israeli attacks since early March, including Al-Akhbar’s Amal Khalil in an April 22 airstrike. Across 2023-2026, at least 368 journalists lost their lives.
Israel faces accusations of ‘journocide,’ deliberately targeting reporters, with 273 deaths mainly in Gaza and others in Lebanon, Yemen, and Iran. These are the victim journalists, caught in war’s crossfire.
In contrast, ‘culprit’ journalists sit in comfortable Western newsrooms, producing coverage that stokes conflict. They employ loaded terms like ‘unprovoked invasion’ or ‘right to self-defense’ selectively, mock victims, and shield war criminals. This inverts the ideal of journalism comforting the afflicted and challenging the powerful.
African media often amplifies this bias by republishing Western wires without scrutiny. Citizen journalists on platforms like YouTube counter this with unfiltered perspectives.
As the day approaches, all must reflect: Does our reporting build peace or breed war? Does it uphold human rights or enable abuses?
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)