The SIFT #1 - Catalonia On The Brink

Welcome to the first edition of The SIFT, a critical digest of the biggest news events by the team at Media Sifter.

Since there are a multiverse of perspectives on any given topic, we advocate a form of media consumption, not based on censorship or filters, but rather on scrutinizing the details. We believe in providing as much evidence as possible for the reader to make up their own mind.

This week The SIFT focuses on events in Catalonia, where a referendum vote on independence, left the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union on the brink of declaring independence. We analyzed mainstream media outlets including the New York Times, Al-Jazeera, BBC, and The Guardian.

New York Times

Headline: Catalonia’s Independence Vote Descends Into Chaos and Clashes

In this article, the NYT seeks to state that while pro-independence and central authorities claimed respective victories, the only clear outcome is that both sides are more divided than before.

The referendum vote is described as “descending into chaos”, and as the “gravest test of democracy in Spain since Franco”. A video is prominently featured showing the violent actions of the Spanish police, it is captioned:

“ Hundreds of people were hurt as the Spanish police closed polling stations and seized ballot boxes during Catalonia’s independence vote on Sunday”

The stand-out interview is with Mr. Pulpillo, a wheel-chair bound man, who talks of Spain’s ugly past. His turnout to vote (and the turnout in general) is described as an “extraordinary show of determination”. The combination of Franco, graphic video and determined suffrage suggests that the NYT sees the Catalonians attempting to vote as the oppressed party.

Despite the article stating that “ slightly less than half” of Catalonia’s population are pro-independence, not a single pro-unionist public voice is featured. The share of voice provided to the political parties on either side is much more balanced, with 65 words are attributed to President Rajoy and his Vice President and 60 words (and an untranslated tweet) from the leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, and the “left wing Mayor of Barcelona” Ada Colau, the only indication of political leanings in the piece.

What Did We Learn:

• Strongly pro-independence lean at least in this article.
• Builds draconian image of the Spanish police and authorities.
• Excludes any unionist voices.

Al-Jazeera

Headline: Catalonia vote: Social media mirrors street tension

In this round-up of social media tweets, posts and videos, the middle-eastern publication takes a far more nuanced stance on events in Catalonia. While they seem determined not to appear biased, through the use of media from both sides, the culmination of the article seems to suggest that they would like to highlight how events in Spain resemble elections in parts of the world that the Western press are often quick to criticize.
The language used is restrained throughout; tension in place of chaos or violence. Amazingly this is the only coverage we found that makes reference to the actual referendum question;

“Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”

The reader is given the impression of balanced reporting, with official posts from both sides. We are presented a clearly pro-government video of a police officer helping a member of the public, published by Spain’s interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido. Then immediately a tweet from Raül Romeva i Rueda, the Catalan government’s minister of foreign affairs, showing the grizzly aftermath of police violence. This back and forth pattern continues with tweets and videos, while referencing the fact that the opinion polls (and indeed opinion) are split on the issue.

Interestingly the three contributions of private individuals plucked from social media all show police using significant force against civilians. Messages such as “Where is Democracy” are focused upon, striking and poignant slogans in an EU state perceived as democratic. We are told that a number of high-profile European politicians entered the fray. Tweets from Jeremy Corbyn, the UK opposition’s leader, Miro Cerar, the centrist Slovenian leader and Belgium’s Prime Minister Charles Michel are all featured, without any mention of the missing voices.

The article ends with a tweet from the Human Right’s Watch. While the tweet itself is mild and does not offer a strong condemnation, the very fact that this type of tweet, normalized in the election coverage of so called undemocratic countries, is featured at all, comes across as a slight to the ‘democratic west’.

What Did We Learn:

• Seeks to appear balanced.
• Uses subtle jabs to deride the democratic process in Spain/Catalonia.
• Excludes analysis of the missing voices.

BBC

Headline: EU looks away as Catalan crisis unfolds

The BBC provides another perspective on matters, looking at the reaction of the EU states and leaders to the events in Catalonia. The article immediately launches into a series of rhetorical questions:

So where the cries of outrage? Where the statements of condemnation, the tweets of shock at the violence meted out on the voters of Catalonia at the hands of the Spanish police?

Comparisons are drawn to the flurry of messages that accompany the Brexit saga. Three reasons are given, with the third reason, the EUs staunch opposition to separatist movements in general, cited as the underlying reason for the comparative quiet.

The government in Madrid sees Catalan independence as a fundamental threat to the constitutional Spanish (…) And a European Union that gives daily lip service to the idea of breaking down the boundaries between its members looks silently away as one of its number uses state violence to protect the integrity of its borders.

The article seeks to persuade us that the idea of nationalism, despite the cries for supranational action, is on the rise and is manifest in the actions of both the Spanish and Catalan authorities. The silence from the EU is portrayed as nothing more than an act of self-preservation.

What Did We Learn:

• Strong anti-establishment tone throughout.
• The article sees nationalism as a dangerous, growing trend.
• The writer portrays the EU as a selfish, ineffective entity and questions its values.

The Guardian

Headline: The Guardian view on Catalonia’s referendum: the Spanish state has lost

The sole overt, editorial piece on behalf of a publisher in this week’s SIFT. The headline is concise and transparent, presenting a position without resorting to sensationalism. The lead image shows an impassioned woman, arms aloft, with an ambiguous look of desperation and/or defiance towards an unmoved police officer - a representative of the Spanish state. In the first paragraph we are given graphic details of the conduct of these officers:

“..dragging voters out by the hair or throwing them down stairs, firing rubber bullets to disperse crowds - even striking at Catalan firefighters and jostling with Catalan police.”

We are told that the immediate result of the “violence” was hundreds of casualties - the source is provided as Catalan authorities.

There is a relentless focus on President Rajoy’s handling of the situation, placing the blame squarely on his shoulders for the rise of the independence movement, the actions of the police and probable success of the secessionists. The article then deftly alludes to monarchic tendencies, representing the state, and by extension the President, as a reigning, sovereign entity, oppressing its citizens - the unnamed ‘many’;

“Who wants to be ruled by a state like this, many are asking.”

Towards the conclusion, more considered arguments are presented for the editorial line. The fact that public support for the referendum and independence peaked in 2013. Or that most people who supported the union would be unlikely to vote.
“Between them, the two sides have produced both a vote that is hugely contentious and a result that is meaningless.”
After more discussion of the heavy-handed police, the editorial follows the NYT, discussing the failure of both sides to secure a clear outcome. It then takes a page from the BBC’s James Landale pointing to the lack of condemnation from other EU members. The Guardian however seeks to explain this away as necessary to avoid “accusations of authoritarianism and complaints about the suppression of the Catalan will”.

“Mr Verhofstadt urged de-escalation, a negotiated solution bringing in all parties including the opposition in Catalonia and respect for Spain’s constitutional and legal order. He is right.”

After taking aim at Mr Rajoy for most of the article, interestingly The Guardian conclude by declaring Mr Puigdemont’s claims of victory “at best half true”. In contrast to the piece on the BBC, the only party to come away with any real credit here is the much maligned EU, and Mr Verhofstad.

What Did We Learn:

• The Guardian appears to defend the EU's stance.
• Strong bias against the current Spanish government.
• The article pushes the idea of oppressors vs. oppressed citizens.

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