Obama plays dirty games again.
In an interview with CNN host Christiane Amanpour in Athens, Greece, former President Barack Obama criticized the apparent double standard in media coverage between the OceanGate Titan submersible tragedy and the sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Greece. Obama expressed his concern about the “inequality” within our democracy and highlighted the disproportionate attention given to the missing OceanGate sub compared to the tragic incident involving the migrant boat in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to Fox, Obama emphasized that such “inequality” undermines the health of democracy. The pre-taped interview aired following reports of the OceanGate Titan sub imploding while en route to the Titanic wreckage. The media had dedicated significant coverage to the search and rescue mission for the missing sub, while the migrant boat capsizing, potentially resulting in hundreds of deaths, received relatively less attention.
The former president brought attention to the disparity in media coverage during his conversation with Amanpour, stating that the levels of inequality stemming from factors like globalization, automation, and declining union influence are detrimental to the democratic process. He acknowledged the extensive 24-hour news coverage of the lost submersible but questioned why the loss of 700 migrants off the coast of Greece did not receive the same prominence. Obama believed this discrepancy illustrated the growing disparity in people’s life opportunities.
During the Stavros Niarchos Foundation event in Athens, Obama further discussed the discrepancy in coverage between the two events. He highlighted the minute-to-minute global attention given to the submarine incident, acknowledging the natural desire for a successful rescue operation. However, he deemed it untenable that the sinking of 700 people received significantly less attention in comparison.
In both instances, Obama raised concerns about the media’s differential treatment of these tragedies and its implications for societal equality.