Media and Conflict

Perhaps media have generally been overlooked in analyses of conflict because, on their own, they are rarely a direct cause of conflict. Nonetheless, as part of a larger matrix of factors, media can be extremely powerful tools used to promote violence, as witnessed in Rwanda, the former Republic of Yugoslavia, the former Soviet republic of Georgia, and elsewhere (Frohardt and Temin).

Media has the potential to influence actions of its audience or user, regardless of its form. The problem with media is that it sometimes works to promote negative values, both on purpose, and inadvertently. The latter can often be an issue relating to the poor training of journalists or "when there is no history of independent media" (Frohardt and Temin). In societies facing conflict, there are often groups of vulnerable people who are dealing with violence and poverty, and this results in them being open to suggestions about how to change their situation, no matter how extreme. This was the case in Rwanda. Radio-Television Libre des Mille Collines was purchased privately by Hutu extremists who wished to promote their hatred for Tutsis and their desire to exterminate them, along with any of their moderate Hutu supporters.

One of the most disturbing facts about the use of radio in Rwandan to promote a genocide is the fact that free radios were given to as many people as possible following the establishment of RTLMC. This was done by the government to ensure that everyone had access to the medium and would be able to hear the extremist propaganda the Hutus were preaching (Frohardt and Temin). Because this was done by the government, there certainly was no legislation that suggested the need for other sources of media, nor was there legislation that restricted what could be said on air. Radio was simply used to promote hate.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) outlines the following as tactics used to promote hate and fear through the media, tactics that were evident in Rwanda in 1993 and 1994:

A focus on past conflicts and on a history of ethnic animosity;

The manipulation of myths, stereotypes, and identities. The example given by the USIP is how Tutsis were deemed "cockroaches" by the RTLMC broadcasters as a way in which to dehumanize them, and;

A shift towards consistently negative reporting (Frohardt and Temin).