Malala's message goes AWOL in the USA

Sadly, so very typical of America's media. Malala's message to the Americans has, with few exceptions, not seen the light of day. FAIR provides the context.

"But less well-known is what she said to Barack Obama about how his wars were undermining the fight against terrorism.

Last year, Yousafzai's White House meeting with Barack Obama received wide media coverage. But as I pointed out back then (FAIR Blog, 10/15/13), part of Yousafzai's message didn't make it into most media accounts: She told Obama that drone strikes in her country were fueling more terrorism.

After the meeting, she released a statement that included this:

'I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education, it will make a big impact.'

As Rania Khalek reported in Extra! (12/13), this part of her message wasn't suited for US television:

"In the week following the meeting, ABC, NBC and CBS aired 20 Malala Yousafzai–related stories, according to a search of the Nexis news media database. But not one of them mentioned her comments about US drone strikes."

After Yousafzai's award, she was back in the headlines; the news about the Nobel Peace Prize made it onto every network newscast. But once again, her message to Obama was absent–a curious omission, given the context."

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