This latest webinar organized by the International Manifesto Group brought together leading voices from English-language alternative media to discuss the Western media’s role in manufacturing consent for the disasters produced by capitalism. The panel was streamed live on Sunday, March 26, 2023 over Zoom and YouTube. You can watch it here.
About this event
This panel, bringing together leading alternative journalists publishing in English, reflected on the role of the mainstream media in the making and proliferation of the profound crisis of capitalism which is rapidly becoming an existential crisis for humanity. Whether it is the ongoing wars, public health catastrophes, economic crises or the ecological crises, mainstream media, rather than clarifying the issues, has muddied the waters if not spread outright disinformation.
Speakers
Ben Norton is the founder and editor-in-chief of Geopolitical Economy Report, an independent news website dedicated to publishing original journalism and analysis. He has reported from numerous countries, including Venezuela, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, and more. Watch his introductory remarks here.
Camila Escalante is the woman behind Kawsachun News, a media outlet based in Bolivia, and also known for her correspondent work reporting around Latin America. She is a Latin American Correspondent for Press TV. She co-hosts Latin America Review, a new weekly program/podcast where you can hear interviews with Latin American and Caribbean leaders and analysts in English. Camila’s family are FMLN revolutionary former combatants. She has previously been based in Quito, Havana and Caracas. She is currently based in La Paz and reporting on campesino movements across the continent. Watch her introductory remarks here.
Danny Haiphong is a socialist activist, writer, and political analyst. He is the host of The Left Lens. For the last five years, Haiphong has been a weekly contributor to Black Agenda Report. His articles have also appeared in publications such as MintPressNews, Counterpunch, The American Herald Tribune, The Center for Global Research (Canada) and The Herald (Zimbabwe). Haiphong has frequently appeared on Black Agenda Radio, CPRNews with Don Debar, The Taylor Report, RT, and Sputnik International. Watch his introductory remarks here.
Li Jingjing is a reporter for CGTN. She has travelled throughout China doing English-language video journalism, providing the outside world with a ground-level view of life, particularly in the autonomous regions and among ethnic minorities. She has interviewed Uyghur Islamic scholars in Xinjiang and schoolchildren in Tibet. She spent February and March 2020 in Wuhan, covering China’s Covid frontline for CGTN. Her show, Talk it Out with Li Jingjing, is something of a social media sensation, with 2.6 million followers on Facebook. Watch her introductory remarks here.
K.J. Noh is a peace activist, independent scholar, teacher and expert in the geopolitics of Asia. He is a frequent contributor to CounterPunch and Dissident Voice and a member of Veterans For Peace. Watch his introductory remarks here.
Moderator – Radhika Desai is a Professor at the Department of Political Studies, and Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. She is the author of Capitalism, Coronavirus and War: A Geopolitical Economy (2023), Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire (2013), Slouching Towards Ayodhya: From Congress to Hindutva in Indian Politics (2nd rev ed, 2004) and Intellectuals and Socialism: ‘Social Democrats’ and the Labour Party (1994), a New Statesman and Society Book of the Month, and editor or co-editor of Russia, Ukraine and Contemporary Imperialism, a special issue of International Critical Thought (2016), Theoretical Engagements in Geopolitical Economy (2015), Analytical Gains from Geopolitical Economy (2015), Revitalizing Marxist Theory for Today’s Capitalism (2010) and Developmental and Cultural Nationalisms (2009). Watch her introductory remarks here.
This post was updated on March 26, 2023, to include links to the video clips associated with it.
