Media, Stop Skating the Truth about Atrocities

Words still matter in a world drowning in information, where news cycles move at the speed of light. They have the power to shape perceptions, to define right and wrong, to call out evil, and to bring solace to the afflicted. But what happens when those words fail us? When they obscure the gravity of human suffering, sanitize the horrors of war, or hide the brutality of terror behind euphemism and ambiguity?

Such is the case when media reports on the heinous act of kidnapping, torture, and murder as though it were a mere accident—a “dead body found in a house fire” story. That is not just misleading; it is offensive. Let’s call it what it is: a dereliction of journalistic duty and a disservice to the victims and their families.

When hostages, taken against their will and held underground in unimaginable conditions for over 330 days, are brutally executed, it is not accurate or appropriate to say they were “found dead.” These poor souls were murdered. Their lives were snuffed out in a final act of barbarism by terrorists who have no regard for human life. They were not victims of circumstance but of calculated cruelty.

Journalists, editors, and media organizations must wake up to the power they wield. Words like “found dead” diminish the humanity of those lost and blur the lines between good and evil. It paints a picture that is not just incomplete but dangerously misleading. These are not faceless victims of a tragic event; they were human beings with families, dreams, and futures cruelly taken from them.

To call them merely “found dead” is to shirk responsibility. It is to disregard the context, the intent, and the very nature of what has transpired. It is not enough to skim the surface, to hedge, or to soften the blow for audiences who might find the truth too hard to bear. That is not journalism. That is not truth-telling. That is cowardice.

This is a plea: Stop skating around the truth. Stop allowing comfort and complacency to dictate how you report on human suffering and the atrocities committed by those who seek to destroy us. When the hands of terrorists extinguish innocent lives, do not trivialize it with sanitized language. Say what it is. Say, “found murdered.” Say “executed.” Say “barbarically slaughtered.”

The media must be the torchbearers of truth. The stakes are too high for anything less. When we dilute the language of suffering, we dilute the reality of that suffering. When we hide behind vagueness, we enable those who perpetrate these horrors to do so with less scrutiny, outrage, and accountability.

Do better, media. The world is watching, and history will judge us by what we say and how we say it. Let us not be complicit in the crime of whitewashing evil. Let us not betray those whose stories must be told in full, brutal honesty.