On February 22, 2024, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 431 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'. The issue's feature article, titled, "Media and Sentiments," accuses governments in Muslim countries and "affiliated" mainstream media of focusing on certain issues in selected regions and not others, and designating certain parties as enemies and not others, based on political interests, so as to shape people's emotions and direct them to where these governments' interests lie. The piece cautions Muslims to view the events affecting Muslims through the lens of religion, and not the desires of their un-Islamic rulers.
The editorial opens by arguing that in the age of "targeted media," governments and affiliated media outlets tend to direct the public to sympathize with certain issues, while diverting their attention away from others, in an effort to shape people's sentiments to those that serve the government's interests. By doing so, people's priorities and stances on any matter will be consistent with the "desires of tawaghit [i.e., un-Islamic rulers]," and not compatible with the core values of Islam, which decrees that Muslims everywhere are one nation.
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