Question

Powerful authoritarian governments arose while the countries were in the midst of social, political, and economic unrest. Military dictatorships targeted potential opposition to their power and groups perceived as threats, typically because of ethnicity and religion. The governments used the media in the form of propaganda to spread their message of superiority, fear, and power. By controlling what was reported they were able to control what the rest of the world saw. Increased technology, however, has made government-controlled media easier to circumvent, and events can be shared immediately by a global audience. In the 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and political unrest in Eastern Europe, the countries of the Balkan Peninsula were re-forming with new governments, and the republics that made up the federation of Yugoslavia began to declare independence. This dissolution created political and social division as well as economic suffering. Ancient divisions between Serbs and the Muslim population amplified, causing two conflicts in the same region. A targeted group was attacked and forced off their land, while the Serbian leader used his centralized power to justify Serbian nationalism and claims of Muslim inferiority. Cambodia had been politically unstable since after World War II. Cambodia became a military dictatorship under the Communist Pol Pot, who targeted political dissidents, non-Cambodian people, Buddhist monks, and anyone whom he saw as a threat to his control. Nationalism and fear were used to justify killing 1.7 million people. Similarly, the Rwanda genocide in 1994 was the result of years of conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi people. The Hutu government blamed Tutsi rebels for shooting down a plane carrying the president and quickly went on the offensive, targeting Tutsi villages, leadership, and possible sympathizers in Rwanda. The targeted attack on the Tutsi population by Hutu forces resulted in 800,000 dead in just a hundred
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Answer 1

Advances in mass media technology opened up information access to a global audience. Television became commonplace in developed countries after World War II, and news stories from foreign countries were brought into homes. Increasingly, news of events was available to more people in shorter periods of time. Atrocities were communicated across the globe by 24-hour news networks and the internet. There are now more people involved in the journalism process and more networks. Some have specifically targeted populations that their news and messages cater to. Journalists may be on the scene as bystanders of war. Writers, editors, and producers frequently are not. Each set of hands that a story passes through is going to leave its own bias. The way a story reaches the public is framed by the process and by what is deemed newsworthy, or what will gain the largest audience. More access to news does not necessarily mean more action. Greater media coverage heightens awareness, but it also can have psychological effects on people by creating apathy. The events are not local, and the victims are often faceless. The perception is that the reader or viewer is not able to take action, and even if they tried, it would be futile. Reports of genocide are an example of this. Increased coverage across the global market has not prevented it from happening.
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Answer 2

Authoritarian governments used propaganda to control their power and target opposition. The Balkan Peninsula saw conflict with the breakup of Yugoslavia, leading to division and suffering. In Cambodia, Pol Pot's dictatorship killed 1.7 million people in the name of nationalism. Rwanda's genocide in 1994 between the Hutu and Tutsi people resulted in 800,000 deaths.

Answer 3

Advances in mass media have allowed for global access to news, with television and internet bringing events from around the world into people's homes. However, increased coverage does not always lead to action, as viewers may feel apathetic or powerless. The process of news production can introduce bias, and the framing of stories influences what is deemed newsworthy. Despite heightened awareness, atrocities like genocide continue to occur.