T. J. Coles







Liberal mass media and the 'Israel lobby' theory

Do the mass media, specifically those widely perceived as liberal, support the Israel lobby theory? The Israel lobby theory posits that a small number of wealthy and influential American Jews and Christian Zionists successfully manipulate US foreign and domestic policies in the interests of the Jewish state. The theory also posits that all this is achieved at the expense of the United States. Critics argue that the theory is implicitly anti-Semitic because it reinforces the stereotype of Jews as manipulators of world events. This article uses a comparative paired sample analysis of a total of 54 articles from two mass media organisations widely thought of as liberal (the BBC and The New York Times). It suggests that, contrary to expectation, media perceived as liberal do advocate the Israel lobby theory and in doing so reinforce anti-Semitic stereotypes

Keywords: anti-Semitism, conspiracy theory, Israel, Israel lobby, US foreign policy


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Note on the contributor

T. J. Coles is a postdoctoral researcher at Plymouth University’s Cognition Institute, working on issues relating to blindness and visual impairment. His political writings have appeared in academic journals including Peace Review and in mainstream media, including Newsweek. Books include Human wrongs (iff Books), Real fake news (Red Pill Press) and Manufacturing terrorism (Clairview Books, forthcoming).