To read HonestReporting CEO Daniel Pomerantz’s article in Newsweek, please click here (excerpt below).
There is a disturbing disparity in the amount of media coverage afforded to hate crimes against different minority groups in America, and it’s putting vulnerable populations at risk. These have been the findings of a research study my organization, HonestReporting, released on Feb 9. The study examined hate crimes tracked by the FBI between 2018 and 2020, then compared the figures to the amount of news items produced about each incident.
What we found was both disturbing and heartening: The hate crimes that received the most media coverage also reduced the number of hate crimes against those communities. But when it comes to Jews and Asians, the media seems to be holding out on its power to reduce hate crimes; hate crimes against Jews get the least amount of coverage—and are unsurprisingly on the rise.
Jews are per capita the victims of more hate crimes than any other group in the United States—by a large margin. Yet, these instances get among the least media coverage, leading to the incorrect perception that antisemitism is a rare or inconsequential problem. Our study found that Jews received on average less than two news articles per hate crime, whereas hate crimes against Muslims generated more than six.
Hate crimes against Asian-Americans are also highly underreported, even as their incidence is growing at an alarming rate, nearly doubling in the last three years. This same pattern holds for the LGBTQ community and Americans with disabilities. On the other hand, hate crimes against Muslims over the past three years have actually started decreasing. And this of course is an encouraging sign.
To read the full article, please click here.
HonestReporting’s study was also cited on the FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition podcast and in The Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post.
