The impartial senator Fatima Payman has accused mainstream media of decreasing Muslim girls to “stereotypes” and singled out Rupert Murdoch, alleging moguls like him trigger “division” and “fearmongering”.
“Like many of you, I’ve faced challenges in navigating mainstream media as a Muslim woman in politics,” she stated in a keynote speech on Sunday on the tenth anniversary of impartial Muslim media outlet Amust within the south-west Sydney seat of Blaxland.
“Too often we are misrepresented or reduced to stereotypes,” the Western Australia senator stated, pointing to Sky Information headline: “‘Guidance from Allah’: Senator Payman brings religion back to politics”, and a Information Corp headline, “‘Exiled’ Labor senator’s donations to Barbie-hating Islamic TV studio revealed”.
Payman instructed Guardian Australia she had met Dr Ziad Basyouny, an impartial working towards Labor’s Tony Burke within the seat of Watson, on the occasion however her participation was “not about endorsing any candidates” for the upcoming election.
She stop the Labor social gathering in July to take a seat as an impartial on the Senate crossbench in a significant rupture with the Albanese authorities over its dealing with of recognition of the state of Palestine.
“After seven months of toeing the party line, trying to enact change from within, I came to understand a brutal reality,” she stated in her handle. “I realised that the Labor party I campaigned for and chose to serve with was not the same brave, visionary party of the good old days.
“The genocide in Gaza is not an abstract concept, it is a brutal, daily reality for millions of people.
“The stories we hear are not just tales of suffering … They are reminders that we cannot afford to be complacent, that we cannot afford to remain silent.”
The guts of the handle referred to as into query Australians’ skill to belief mainstream media. “Sometimes the news feels a little too cozy with the powers that be,” she stated.
Payman took intention at “media moguls”, singling out Murdoch who she claimed “only wants what benefits his agenda … causing further division, marginalisation and fearmongering in our society”.
“Mainstream media, driven by the interests of big corporations, can sometimes feel like an echo chamber repeating the views of the powerful while silencing the voices of everyday Australians.”
In her handle, she threw her help behind impartial media. “It’s the truth-teller, the accountability partner, the one who stands tall when the big voices of politics or corporations try to drown everyone else out,” she stated.
after e-newsletter promotion
Payman described the present media panorama as being “about as multicultural as a beige wall”.
As a consequence, tales aren’t “told in a way that truly reflects our lived experiences”, Payman stated, pointing to housing affordability, the rising price of dwelling, the local weather disaster and recognition of Indigenous and migrant voices as examples.
She stated supporting impartial media will maintain readers’ “right to think freely, to question the narrative, and to make your own choices based on real information, not just the stories the government or big corporations want you to hear”.
“Without independent media, we risk getting stuck in a cycle where the powerful protect their own interests, and the rest of us are left with empty promises.”
Information Corp was approached for remark.
