Civilians from the Tutsi ethnic group were also accused of supporting the rebel group dominated by the Tutsi ethnic group. During this period, the Hutu extremists took advantage of the volatile situation in the country to spread propaganda that increased the division between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups (Abimbola & Dominic, 2013). Further, there was a fear culture among the Hutu ethnic group against the Tutsi because of a long history of oppressive rule by the Tutsi minority in the country. The events that followed after the heightened tension in the country included shooting down the plane that carried the President on April 6, 1994.

President Habyarimana was a Hutu and immediately after the shooting down of the plane, violence broke out in the country. Consequently, Hutu extremists took advantage of the situation and decided upon themselves to wipe the entire Tutsi population in the country. In the weeks following the shooting down of the plane, approximately 800,000 men, women, and children were massacred in the Rwandan genocide (Yanagizawa-Drott, 2014).

However, until the present date, the world is still wondering how and why the international community and, in particular, the media, never played its role appropriately in terms of informing the world appropriately regarding atrocities taking place in Rwanda. One of the key roles of the media, both local and international is to act as a watchdog. In this regard, the media had the responsibility of informing the world about what was taking place at that time (Schimmel, 2011). This paper explores how and why the media failed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

How and why the media failed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994

While over 800,000 innocent civilians were massacred in the Rwandan genocide, the media, on the other hand, blamed the international community for failing to intervene quickly. However, it is also necessary for the media to share the blame because they failed to recognize the extent of the killings immediately and mobilize the world’s attention. Further, the media failed in its duty to report the nationwide massacre that was taking place in Rwanda and only alerted the world three weeks after the violence began.