Mainstream media love to present themselves as the “fourth estate,” guardians of truth and accountability. But when genocide is reduced to phrases like “conflict,” “complex issue,” or “war,” the effect is not to inform—it is to sedate. Labeling genocide as “war” is particularly insidious. It sells the illusion of balance: two sides, evenly matched, engaged in some fair contest. But genocide isn’t a duel. It is asymmetry, domination, and systemic violence against the powerless, the civilians. By choosing that language, media outlets don’t merely misrepresent reality—they provide cover for perpetrators.
This is not neutrality. It is complicity. And history will record it as such. Because accountability cannot remain abstract. To preserve truth for the future, we must name the institutions that looked away and, equally, the journalists who gave euphemism the weight of fact.
