60% of the news about Islam from 6 Spanish newspapers are Islamophobic

15 October 2018 | Press release

The Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media, an initiative of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and the Al Fanar Foundation, presents its first annual report today in Barcelona.

La Vanguardia, El Mundo, La Razón, 20 minutes, El País and eldiario.es have published in 2017 news, interviews and opinion articles about Islam and the Muslim community, Muslims or jihadism that fall into Islamophobia , although in different proportions depending on the newspaper. This is confirmed by the Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media, which in its first annual report (corresponding to 2017) has identified and evaluated 1,659 pieces of information from these media.

According to the Oobservatory’s work methodology, 60% of the total information is categorized as Islamophobic, either because it contains Islamophobic ideas (title / subtitle and / or text and image), or – without being explicit – because it favors Islamophobic interpretations.

A qualitative analysis gives the Observatory the possibility to identify the positive or negative tone of the analyzed information, which allows interesting readings when compared by subject (the following are considered: terrorism, women, feminine clothing, radicalism and refugees). In this sense, it is relevant that those contents that deal with women have a negative tone in 65% of the cases, or that 90% of the news about Islam and / or Muslims refer to a negative aspect.

The Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media is an initiative of the IEMed and the Al Fanar Foundation for Arab Knowledge, which has the support of Casa Árabe, the Tres Culturas Foundation and the Euro-Arab Foundation.  Its objective is to identify examples of Islamophobia in journalistic information to promote, in collaboration with the media, “journalism that is accurate, balanced and aware of its role as an opinion-maker in promoting an inclusive society.” In this sense, it also collects existing initiatives and good practices both in Spain and in Europe.

The 2017 report of the Observatory of Islamophobia in the Media, entitled An incontestable reality. Islamophobia in the media, also includes articles by journalists and experts, such as Felipe Sahagún, Ghufran Khir Allah or Moussa Bourekba (CIDOB). The Observatory’s work methodology, as well as articles and analysis of journalistic content or recommendations and good practices can be consulted on the website www.observatorioislamofobia.org