An Italian lobby group is insisting on purging journalistic language of all references to migrants that could carry a negative connotation, including such terms as “illegal immigrants.”
The list of forbidden terms to be expunged from news reporting comprises expressions that underscore the ethnicity of certain migrant groups or their illegal status. Terms like “clandestini” (clandestine migrants), “zingari” (gypsies), “nomadi” (nomads), “extracomunitari” (those coming from outside the European Union) and others like them are marked for extermination.
Even such precise terms as “Albanian,” “Maghrebi” and “Chinese” should be excluded from news reports, the association contends, because “today, they are no longer neutral.” The group also insists that the ethic origin of perpetrators of crimes should not be mentioned in news stories so as not to create an association of malfeasance with migrants.
“Islamic extremists” should simply be referred to as “extremists,” the guide declares, to avoid stirring up prejudice against Muslims.
The politically correct guide to reporting on immigration is the brainchild of cartadiroma.org, an immigration lobbying association financed by left-wing billionaire George Soros through his Open Society Foundations. According to reports, the anti-populist magnate has been pouring “hundreds of thousands of dollars” into U.S. protests against President Donald Trump.
George Soros is also the third largest donor to Planned Parenthood, providing millions of dollars annually to America’s largest abortion provider.
As a committed globalist, Soros has struggled to undermine the national sovereignty of individual countries, pushing for greater decision-making at the supranational level.
“Insofar as there are collective interests that transcend state boundaries, the sovereignty of states must be subordinated to international law and international institutions,” he wrote.
Perhaps more to the point, however, Soros is also financial backer of Media Matters for America, a progressive media watchdog group that attacks alternative media and works to make sure that no conservative views make it into the mainstream media.
On the English-language version of its website, Carta di Roma states that it was founded in 2011 “with the goal of implementing the Journalist’s Code of Conduct on immigration.” Carta di Roma “seeks to be a stable reference point for those who work on daily basis with media and minorities issues: journalists, media operators, as well as various institutions, associations and activists involved in promoting and supporting the rights of asylum seekers, refugees, minorities and migrants in the field of media reporting,” the site says.
Despite their hyperattention to precision in language, the group insists on referring to the U.S. temporary travel ban by the tendentious label of “Muslim ban” in its attacks on President Trump’s executive order.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
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