Patty (Tasha) Vinikow was Pacific NW Regional Direct of CAMERA and lectured on intentional media bias during the Intifada periods in the US and Israel. She was a journalist for Jewish publications and was trained in subliminal advertising at the underground New York School. A summary of her media bias research was presented to Congress and President Bush Jr for consideration. Her email is giddyap123@gmail.com
There’s an old fable called “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice." A wizard leaves his workshop, instructing his young apprentice to draw water in a pail assigning washing the floor as his chore. The lad decides to invoke a magic spell to make his broom and pail do the hard work. His scheme turns to chaos as the water fills the room. In panic, he chops the broom with an axe, but the pieces become more brooms, more pails, and more water delivered to the flooded floor.
Suddenly the Wizard appears with the magic spell to stop the impending disaster. “Only a Master can invoke powerful outcomes," the Wizard exclaims.
This tale came to mind while pondering the phenomenon of the worldwide media vs. Jews and Israel. Since the October 7th tragedy, I have monitored the relentless bias and fabrications poured into the electronic and print media. Like the energetic brooms and pails of water, the overflow of intentional hatred and calumny against the Jews is still flooding the media landscape non-stop. And like the poor apprentice, we are being drowned in a sea of seemingly unstoppable onslaughts.
There are wonderful individuals, organizations and governmental agencies heroically trying to grab the brooms and pails as they splash onto the world’s consciousness. They have valiantly tried to remove vicious content from social media, educate through articles and videos to promote Israel’s true position in this media madness. And laws are being considered to make such antisemitic content subject to penalties or even incarceration.
Today’s media “workshop" is exponentially different from, say, the techniques of the Intifada propaganda war of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The technology of the current AI-generated programs utilizes algorithms and influences of mind-control (yes, really) that literally cause an addiction to new and exciting content. Without the filter of reason and reflection, the hate-filled and erroneous messages become potent flaming arrows of emotional incitement. We see this, for example, in the unbelievable but true numbers of anti-Israel protesters on the streets of every major country in the world.
My specialty, Media Research Analysis, was crucial during the Intifada debacle. Since October 7th, 2023-almost three entire years-I’ve spent thousands of hours observing the dominos of truth and fairness fall. Each unchallenged lie, defamation, and faked news story emboldened men and women “influencers" to create successful, hateful rants and bogus tirades. Altogether, they reach billions. Not millions-billions with a “B." It is exponential. Not a slow-rise graph curve, but a compounded “hockey stick" that is surpassing even the atrocious levels of the Nazi era.
Suddenly, every pundit, influencer, reporter or video celebrity is a born-again Torah Scholar and expert on the Middle East. Smug “experts" opine confidently-albeit erroneously-on our Jewish history, Israel, religion, ethics and even our DNA. It’s shocking to listen to such distortions of Jewish and Israeli life.
Furthermore, we seldom get a chance to present “our side" of the story. I’ve appeared on popular “influencer" shows, only to be censored when I try to explain Jewish or Israeli positions. Many of these presenters were fairly neutral at the time of October 7th. They became emboldened when their antisemitism and false narratives went unchallenged. They noticed their compatriots get bolder in pushing boundaries in their rage and vitriol-again, without consequences, bragging how their audience count increased as well when dispensing anti-Jewish, anti-Israel pontifications, giving them a total feed-back loop of “justification." That and the truth have nothing in common.
So what can we do? Obviously a different strategy needs to be employed. I have two suggestions. We all know the adage “money talks." And we know we have the truth of history, archeology, and Jewish destiny on our side. We have the evidence of how photos and stories have been faked and manipulated to portray Israel and the Jews as aggressors in this current conflict. We do have the facts and moral certitude on our side to redress these intentional errors.
So let’s hit ‘em where it hurts. Their pocketbooks. Almost all of the money spent on trying to “buy" positive Israeli content was spent in vain. Our enemies saw right through those attempts and mocked us. There is money in the fund-raising organizations that promote Jewish concerns in this media war. There is money in governmental agencies for what I’m about to propose: sue them. Many of them, and at the same time. Sue the major media companies and prominent, well-known purveyors of hate against us. Make it a big deal that we’re about to put them on notice, generate “buzz."
Libel, slander, false representation and the many categories of intentionally-skewed reporting are NOT “free speech." They have crossed the line into actionable legal territory. After all, “hate speech" is a crime in many countries.
If a coordinated response, targeting the most influential and powerful entities, both corporate and personal, were carefully conducted, it would have a tidal-wave effect. In a legal presentation, “our side" would have the chance to demonstrate to the world how lying and vicious our media foes have become.
It could allow the evidence of the rightness of our cause to reach millions. It would help to demolish the canards of their videos and memes and dialogues when exposed in an official legal context. We have the most brilliant minds capable of presenting our cause to the world.
The other “money talks" approach could be a contest. A “prove us wrong" debate with a really hefty prize to their best participant. Our media detractors are so confident in their arrogant pronouncements, let’s see them fold under the laser light of truth. Prove Israel commits genocide. Prove the existence of a “Palestinian people" before 1964. Prove the IDF didn’t fight the most careful war against terrorist aggressors. PROVE IT. There are so many lies to shoot down. It would have to be against someone most of the world would watch. Like a Tucker Carlson.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the world’s hatred would dissipate. None of us are that naive. But either approach could engender at least some grudging respect. Bullies understand a good left hook. And it would help to address the incredible Chillul HaShem-the desecration of G-d’s Name in the world. How can we not address this growing shame? Failing a larger endeavor to counter the media’s success in turning minds and hearts against us is to guarantee further tragedies and loss of precious lives.
Final thought: perhaps losing the media war is part of the master plan, as the Prophets foretold-that all nations-all-- would turn against Israel at the End of Days. There may be no solution to our media woes. But that does not absolve us from a mighty effort to counter them. As a researcher in Jewish history, WWII and the Nazi regime, I can share, as we all well know, that this current cycle of blood libels is not new to the Jewish nation. But it is unique, because technology has allowed the poison to infiltrate the entire world at lightning speed and saturate the internet and all other venues of news and entertainment.
At the end of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice, it takes “The Master" to quell the raging waters. “Only a Master can invoke powerful outcomes." May we merit, likewise, Divine Help from our Creator and Master of the World, the true Master of "powerful outcomes"!