The proliferation of “both sides journalism” — the idea that there are two sides to every issue that deserve equal attention and air time — has helped prop up racist, anti-science and anti-democratic attitudes in Brazil.

The approach has been especially alive and well when it comes to coverage of the Black Lives Matter protests that sprung up around the world over the summer. It has become common practice at the country’s two prominent cable news channels, CNN Brasil and Globonews, in particular.

CNN Brasil resurrected a U.S. program called Crossfire, which had been criticized for pitting two sides of controversial issues to debate each other. The Brazilian program books experts to face off with debaters whose only credentials are that they support the far right administration of President Jair Bolsonaro. In past episodes, Crossfire has debated the validity of the World Health Organization’s social isolation rules, and the return of football matches during the pandemic.

Full article at International Journalists’ Network ‘s website. Date of publication: 26/11/2020.