Fresno, CA – The fear mongering hit hard today in the central valley, when two well-known news outlets reported on protests that are not taking place here. Instilling fear for no reason, and furthering a false rhetoric that Americans hate people of Muslim faith.
This is exactly the 45 second propaganda story you hear from your main line news outlets to push an agenda of dividing our country by religious, racial, and moral biases. If I were to hold a protest in downtown Fresno about really any topic, and send ABC a press release about it (I have done this.) They wouldn’t touch that story. When bigot John Ritzheimer holds a protest in Arizona at a mosque that catches the attention of the California University Of Fresno. The story is run immediately, without really any journalism involved. Just a quote, and some pics of students.
In fact, the articles were so short that I don’t have any problem just quoting them here with the hopes that you as a reader can follow along with me.
Here’s the story from ABC 30 Action News:
Muslim students are excused from attending class at Fresno State today at the request of the university provost.
A Fresno State spokesperson says the school took action after learning of potential national threats today against Muslim students. While there haven’t been any threats locally, Fresno State is taking precautionary measures — but classes have not been canceled.
This made my skin crawl. I myself am an activist involved in many different ways. When a protest happens near me, I usually attend. If not out of solidarity, then to at least cover the story. I heard of no protest anywhere even remotely near here… So I did some research. There are some protests happening, below is a map of the rallies taking place today and tomorrow in front of mosques, and where they are expected to be.
Here’s the story from The Fresno Bee:
Officials at Fresno State in California are recommending an excused absence for Muslim students on Friday, citing anti-Muslim demonstrations planned for Friday and Saturday,according to the university’s student newspaper, The Collegian.
According to the report, Fresno State Provost Lynnette Zelezny sent an email to professors
recommending the excused absence. Some professors cancelled classes for Friday.
This entire story is ridiculous. Both of these rather respected news outlets in this City chose to run a story based off incomplete evidence of any actual event taking place. Each story almost makes it sound as though there was to be a rally today on Campus or at a mosque here in Fresno. We now know that is not the case.
If the CSUF wants to take precautions regarding an immediate threat, or even an intermediate threat, so be it. And I can understand how that might warrant a story. But if a credible news outlet jumps on it right away without taking the necessary actions to account for credibility, or even bother to source anything, that’s not journalism. It’s fear mongering.
