- An American journalist attempted self-immolation to protest U.S. media’s biased portrayal of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
- Samuel Mena expressed guilt over his own role in perpetuating biased narratives. He condemned the media for characterizing the violence as a “war against Hamas.”
An American journalist from Arizona, who attempted to self-immolate in Washington, DC, expressed that he was deeply burdened by the way U.S. media, and by extension, himself, portrayed Israel’s onslaught on Gaza and the killing of innocent Palestinians.
On Saturday, Samuel Mena attended a pro-Palestinian rally, where he delivered a speech criticising the principles of objectivity and both-sideism, while castigating American newsrooms for their inadequate and biased reporting of the genocide.
"It is we, the American journalists, through lazy negligence at best or through corporate influence at worst, created the environment, incubated, and carried to term the tools that the leaders of our government would use to dismantle the truths of the world in which we live," Mena stated in his speech, which he shared online a day before the rally. "To the 10 thousand children in Gaza that have lost a limb in this conflict, I give my left arm to you. I pray my voice was able to raise up yours, and that your smiles never disappear," Mena said moments before setting his left arm alight.
Bystanders and police officers quickly intervened to extinguish the flames, and Mena was subsequently hospitalized for his injuries, which were not life-threatening.
Arizona’s Family expects its newsroom employees to uphold principles of neutrality and objectivity. Mena is no longer an employee,” the company stated.
The rally Mena attended marked the one-year anniversary of the onset of Israel’s brutal onslaught on Palestinians.
Since October 7th, Israel has initiated a widespread merciless and indiscriminate aerial bombing campaign followed by a ground offensive against the besieged area.
Israeli forces have reportedly killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to official figures from the Palestinian health ministry, though the prestigious Lancet Journal estimates the true toll is 186,000.
Israel’s military operations have targeted schools, UN shelters, mosques, residential areas, and hospitals under siege. UN staff, international aid workers, doctors, and journalists have also been killed by Israeli forces.
Despite these facts, much of the American media continues to depict Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians (which have been the most documented in history) as a “War against Hamas.”
"A 139 square mile strip of people has been levelled, and yet, children still rise from the ashes of a home they once knew, and vow to get vengeance against their loved ones' murderers, and we the American journalists call it a war against Hamas," Mena declared in his speech. "How many Palestinians were killed that I allowed to be branded as Hamas? How many men, women, and children were struck with a missile cosigned by the American media? Cosigned by 'Samuel Mena Jr?'"
Mena reflected on his journey into journalism, stating that he initially entered the field to “serve the people of the state of Arizona that I call home. And now, I understand the reality that is maintaining face for the American Empire.
