This year, millions of people will celebrate Christmas amid nightmarish conditions because of rising levels of Islamist terrorism and repression. But you wouldn’t know it from most national media.
Through my podcast and newsletter, They Stand Corrected, I track how big media fail to deliver the truth. Often, they report things without fact-checking and refuse to correct errors. (Some of the worst examples are “nominees” in the Media Fail Awards.) They also fail by ignoring crucial stories.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need issued a report this year on 18 countries in which “the faithful are suffering because of state authoritarianism or attacks from extremists.” In most, it found, suffering among Christians (not just Catholics) is on the rise. “The increase in religiously-motivated harassment against Christians is higher than it has even been.” The report is titled: “Persecuted and Forgotten?”
“Militant Islam was responsible for the increased persecution in all six African countries reviewed,” ACN reported. Also, “Mass migration of Christian communities, triggered by militant Islamist attacks, has destabilized and disenfranchised them, raising questions about the long-term survival of the Church in key regions.” Other nations in the report include China, North Korea and Nicaragua, where governments are cracking down on religious freedom.
Open Doors, which works with persecuted Christians worldwide, has issued similar warnings. Its 2023 figures showed Nigeria to be most dangerous, home to 82% of known killings of 5,000 Christians worldwide that year. About 15,000 churches and other Christian properties were attacked globally, and nearly 300,000 people were displaced.
The Catholic News Agency reported that in Nigeria, bandits have been “operating with impunity under a largely Muslim-controlled federal government.” And in Burkina Faso, many Christians were among more than 150 people massacred by Islamic terrorists in an October attack. The Middle East Media Research Institute, which monitors violent extremism, reported the Islamic State Central Africa Province claimed to have “killed over 60 Christians by beheading” in the Congo.
For a sign of just how little attention all this is getting, look no further than CBN, the Christian Broadcasting Network. In November, anchor Wendy Griffith interviewed Jeff King, president of International Christian Concern, about ongoing events in Nigeria. “It’s largely unreported — this is the first I’m hearing about it,” she said. “It’s so underreported it’s crazy,” he concurred.
On “They Stand Corrected,” I often point out the media’s obsession with Israel, leading to all kinds of journalistic fiascoes. Many mainstream news organizations have succumbed to an antisemitic movement aimed at depicting the tiny Jewish state in the worst possible light. So perhaps it should be no surprise that, when I went looking for reports about attacks on Christians in Africa and many other places over the past year in the biggest outlets, virtually nothing showed up. But there were stories of Christians suffering as a result of Israel’s effort to end Islamist terrorist attacks. NPR for example (my old stomping grounds) reported on Christians in Lebanon who supported a Hamas terrorist killed by Israel. Somehow that was worth spotlighting, but massive numbers of Christians attacked by Islamist terrorists are not.
Anat Sultan-Dadon, Israeli consul general to the Southeastern United States, brought this up in an interview with me. Of course, Israel’s war against Hamas following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist massacres should be covered “because Israel is on the front line of fighting a radical Islamist ideology that is a threat to the entire free world,” she said. “But are other issues around the world not worthy of attention? Is the persecution of Christians in the Middle East and Africa and so many places around the world — is that not worthy of being covered?” The media has a role in shaping policies and determining which issues get the attention of decision-makers, she added.
The threat of Islamist terrorism is spreading and must be addressed. In Germany this year, three teens who glorified the Islamic State were arrested for allegedly planning attacks on churches. In Idaho, an 18 year old who allegedly “pledged his allegiance to ISIS” planned to attack people at churches using knives and firearms. He was arrested, and authorities thwarted “a truly horrific plan,” FBI Director Christopher Wray announced.
This week, media will give lip service to Christians, wishing them a merry Christmas. Let’s hope in the year ahead, news leaders do much more than that, demanding greater action to fight Islamist terrorism, keeping churchgoers protected and showing persecuted Christians everywhere that they’re not forgotten.
Josh Levs, the host of They Stand Corrected, the podcast and newsletter fact-checking the media, is a frequent contributor to AJC Opinion. Find him at joshlevs.com.
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