In our ongoing series, “Track Changes,” we link to online content that we have found to be problematic in its assumptions, framing, or language and provide a question or thought(s) provoked by each piece. We ask how portrayals and representations need to be not only rephrased, but also reframed and rethought.
This is ours for this week. We invite our readers to contribute other articles and posts that could benefit from a critical eye.
“Boko Haram, and Massacres Ruled by Whim”
(Adam Nossiter for The New York Times)
What disturbs us is the lack of context, which has the effect of fitting quotes into a narrative of Nigeria as a failed state and Islamic radicalism as the irrational cause of its violence. While Boko Haram has certainly become an extremely violent sect, the article ignores a) the history of state repression in the northeast of the country, b) the possibility that many of those interviewed might also be Muslim and hold very different views of Islamic ethics and teachings, and c) the intricate webs of support both regionally and internationally for the rebel group as well as the government of Nigeria.