The number of independent newspapers at the time of the genocide was between 30 and 60, and included publications from across the political spectrum (Alexis and Mpambara, 2003; Higiro, 2007). However, the circulation and readership of this newspaper in rural areas is limited due to the relatively low literacy rate. As a result, radio is the only source of news for most people (Des Forges, 1999).
Radio broadcaster RTLM, allied with the government administration, has pitted the Hutu against the Tutsi minority, repeatedly describing them as inyenzi, or "cockroaches," and as inzoka, or "snakes." Unfortunately, the station had a large audience. The instigators of genocide use different metaphors to turn individuals against their neighbors. Hutu are generally shorter than Tutsi; the radio announcer also asked the Hutu to "cut down the tall trees." (Timmerman, 2005).
(This audio recording is from one of a number of tapes containing broadcasts from Radio Tlvision Libre des Mille Collines ("RTLM") that were admitted in the #ICTR "Media" case in 2002)
RTML was created explicitly as a genocidal tool to destroy the Tutsi, prepare preparations, and then actually drive execution once the genocide begins. It was founded in 1993 and opposes peace negotiations between the government of President Juvenal Habyarimana and the rebel Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front, which currently forms the government. After President Habyarimana's plane was destroyed, the radio called for a "final war" to "eliminate the cockroaches." (Kagan, S., 2008).
Research conducted by Yanagizawa (2014) proves that RTLM radio has a crucial role in the process of ethnic violence that led to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. First, there was a direct effect on participation, with increased violence in radio coverage in the Village. An increase of one standard deviation in radio coverage was associated with a 12-13 percent increase in participation in total violence. The effect was similar for militia violence (13--14 percent) and individual violence (10-11 percent).
A series of robustness tests showed that the effect was unlikely to be false due to omitted variables, outliers, or measurement errors in hardness. In addition, placebo tests showed that other radio stations that did not spread propaganda inciting genocide had no impact on violence, indicating that radio reception regardless of content did not affect participation.
It also provides suggestive evidence that RTLM broadcasts are most effective in encouraging violence in villages where the population is relatively uneducated and illiterate, and where Tutsis are a small minority. In addition, he found evidence that the broadcast showed a positive spillover effect on the militia.Â
The number of people involved in militia violence in a given village was significantly higher when a larger share of the population in neighboring villages had radio coverage, consistent with the hypothesis that social interactions determine the spatial diffusion of violence. There was no spillover effect on individual violence, suggesting that local complementarity or information dissemination among ordinary citizens was weak or non-existent, at least relative to that among the members of the organized militias involved.
From the research that the author did, the author found that hate speech and fake news spread by RTLM radio were effective propaganda in inducing ethnic-based violence during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The author realizes that those who are vulnerable to hate speech and fake news are community groups. low educated and illiterate. Thus, the author emphasizes the importance of critical thinking in receiving scattered information.
Without critical thinking from individuals, fake news and hate speech that invites violence will easily affect one's mind. Clarity of mind and purity of heart will also play an important role in receiving information that sometimes tends to be tendentious. Prejudice is also one of the dangerous elements that can cause someone to be easily provoked by fake news and hate speech.
REFERENCE
