Democracies, such as exist in the EU and North America, are obviously really, really dependent upon a FREE press for their informed citizenry. People will do the right thing if they have the facts, all the facts. There's no doubt about that. (Democracies need a literate population and a free press.)

One of the things I was raised to be proudest of was the free press. I was told I would read all the facts, and be able to say what I wanted when I wanted within the bounds of decency. Couldn't yell "fire" in a theater, and might wind up talking to myself, but I would know all sides of a story, and form my own judgments.

A couple of factors have combined to limit, bias or restrict the information flow about the Middle East available to most people in the US. The "free" press has become a bit less "free".

We all are aware the mass media in the US is privately owned, and subject to profit pressures. In the main it has to cater to what advertisers want, and they want the very most viewers and readers. I don't know anyone who would deny that.

And, we all know there are pro-Israeli organizations which monitor pretty much all news coverage, and pressure the media whenever they preceive a bias in news coverage. Quite understandably, pro-Israeli people perceive "bias" in ways neutral people wouldn't. I watched an interview with a representative of one of these monitoring organizations last week. He was absolutely adamant that any mention of Palestinians be derogatory.

The organizations which do this are public, and this is no secret, either.
It's been that way for a long, long time. And, frankly, as long as they were looking for the neo-Nazi sort of stuff, I applauded them.

The media is suseptible to their pressure. No one, no advertiser, no network, wants a boycott, or the threat of a boycott.

Therefore, it's also obvious that people in the US have been getting a biased look at the Middle East for a long, long time, in ways Europe hasn't. They have clearly been getting a less biased picture.

It's understandable the Middle East looks differently to them.

Arf