US media cover events that happen in the United States and in the rest of the world, especially those taking place in far-away, non-industrialized countries, in a very distinct manner.
The author writes:
"Black Americans, a minority ethnic group, are killed by state security forces at a rate higher than the white majority population. Young, black American males are 21 times more likely to be shot by police than white American males."
Readers quickly picked up on the satirical story, providing their own thoughts on the events in Baltimore. A person with the nickname "Hehelta" said:
"When few rebels were killed in Darfur in 2003 after attacking a military garrison, killed many officers in cold blood and burned landed aeroplanes, American media callled that Genocide. Clooney, Save Darfur and other self-made activists wept crocodile tears. Now they are mute. Isn't that hypocritical Apartheid??"
The use of certain racialized terms, such as "thugs," "criminals," as well as the overuse of the words "violence" and "riot" are mostly reserved to instances when protesters are predominantly Black, such as in the Baltimore protesters. However, when rioters are White, media labels them as "fans" or "revelers". A reader named Optimo, caught onto this paradox as well:
#BaltimoreRiots Baltimore "Riot" Media Coverage Highlights Double Standards When Whites Riot http://t.co/qor6AnJPt2 pic.twitter.com/qXtgqKeQKw
— Angry TP Roll (@AngryTPRoll) 28 апреля 2015
"But yet when (white) Ohio State students light cars on fire after a football game, nobody calls them "thugs" — interesting."
#freddiegray #baltimore #BaltimoreUprising #BALTIMORELOOTCREW Double standards, much? pic.twitter.com/eDdZIEks6Z
— Ricky Riley (@epicarthouse) 30 апреля 2015
It is clear that there is more going on in Baltimore than what we can see when reported by CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and others. Mainstream US media choose not to cover the whole story, deliberately leaving out the peaceful side of the Baltimore protests. Instead, all we can hear about is "Riots Erupt," "Night of Unrest," "Rage" and "The Worst Moment in America's History".