Language in Colombia's War - September 14, 2004
By PHILLIP CRYAN
In war, word choice is important. Everyone can hear the difference between calling civilian deaths 'collateral damage' and calling them 'crimes against humanity,' between using 'freedom fighters' or 'terrorists' to describe rebel groups. What about different ways of naming Colombia's rightist death squads?
Newspaper editors have a number of options when deciding how to mention these groups. And their choices matter. When headlines in Beijing's Xinhua news wire and the London daily Guardian call them "rebels" (August 6 and May 14, respectively), readers can be forgiven for assuming these groups oppose the Colombian government.
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