A very short while ago, the Times of Malta suggested that Adrian Delia suspend himself from the role of Leader of the Opposition, in light of the investigation into his affairs. The entire context and point of that assertion seems to have gone over many people’s heads, and some have instead threatened to stop reading the Times of Malta instead. For people who claim to oppose corruption and instead want good governance, the lack of self-awareness exhibited by such comments is truly unfortunate. Tribalism has many faces, and this is one bears scrutinising.
To the die-hards who think that any criticism of their political party is a violation of their rights, their way of life and their democracy, I urge you to consider the alternative. Either the Times of Malta is in league with Castille, despite its deep criticism of the government, or else one is wearing blinkers. The Times of Malta already asked the Prime Minister to resign a year ago. What happens when one removes those blinkers? One finds a rotten political system, its ugly reality disguised by party-controlled media such as NET and One.
At the same time, I acknowledge that each independent media outlet has a lens through which it views the world. It is not an agenda, but rather a recognisable style and perspective. For that reason, one may choose to inform oneself of the same news story from the perspective of different independent media outlets.
It is crucial to understand as many legitimate points of view as possible. However, that is entirely the problem with party-controlled media. With the right marketing budget, anything or anybody can be sold as a good thing.
At the same time, the power of party-controlled media never ceases to surprise me, as was evidenced by the reaction to the Nationalist Party blocking the Democratic Party’s vote of no confidence in Konrad Mizzi.
The story as told from the perspective of NET News became the mainstream interpretation of reality among people I knew whose opinion I respected, and yet, what bothered me was not that they were taking the defence of another political party, of course – but rather that they simply parroted what was told to them.
What one expects and deserves in a democracy is to have enough reliable information and context to come to one’s own conclusions.
The problem is that when people are told what to think, they fool themselves into thinking it is their own logical conclusion that they have arrived to. Yet, as one can see with the rabid hordes of trolls on the comments boards of online newspapers, using fake profiles, one can otherwise easily recognise a manufactured narrative for what it is. Spin has a certain recognisability.
I reaffirm my commitment to the protection of the free press, even when journalists are critical of me and my political party, and when there may be a difference of opinion. To state otherwise would render me a hypocrite in the fight for a healthy democracy.