Criticising Western hypocrisy is important. Many governments do selectively apply human rights, ignore occupied territories like Western Sahara, and enable abuses. That’s not in dispute, and it’s not what inversionism refers to.
Criticising Western hypocrisy is important. Many governments do selectively apply human rights, ignore occupied territories like Western Sahara, and enable abuses. That’s not in dispute, and it’s not what inversionism refers to.
Inversionism isn’t a term for people who focus on Western abuses. It’s for those who reflexively deny or excuse crimes by regimes that oppose the West, purely because they oppose the West.
It’s not about what issues you care about. It’s how you respond to evidence. If someone denies chemical attacks in Syria, or defends Russia bombing civilians, not based on facts, but because “the West lies,” that’s inversionism.
So yes, Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara deserves far more scrutiny. So does Western support for it. But recognising that doesn’t require us to deny Assad’s barrel bombs or excuse Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara demands action, noty just scrutiny. European Union supports Ukraine but says Saharawis should accept limited autonomy under Moroccan occupation, autonomy defined by occupier - basically because Morocco gives EU companies lucrative contracts in Western Sahara.
And it's also this blatant duplicity & hypocrisy that lets fringe figures like Max Blumenthal to get & keep an audience, & its also why the Global South isn't keen to support Ukraine whe the West demands it. If people want to get rid of figures like Blumenthal, get rid of the duplicity & hypocrisy.
Okay, but it's nothing to do with inversionism, it can be criticised on its own terms.
Assad is gone. Israel is dropping barrel bombs in Gaza. Israel is using old, remotely controlled armoured personnel carriers filled with explosives to attack hospital. Sudan's military is dropping barrel bombs to areas controlled by genocidal RSF / Janjaweed, which is backed by Western ally UAE.
People & organizations who were very vocal when Assad was using barrel bombs are now quiet. People & organizations who very vocal when Russia & the Baath regime bombed hospitals in rebel-held territory in Syria defend bombing of hospitals in Gaza. Very powerful people among them. 'Inversionists'.
Someone like Max Blumenthal should be consistent in opposing war crimes and crimes against humanity. But he's a fringe figure. The real problem is not Max Blumenthal, it's that the occupants of the Oval Office and Downing Street 10 don't differ one bit from him. And they have vast power.
Yes, double standards exist. Yes, some people are silent now who spoke out before, and others defend actions now that they condemned when done by Russia or Assad. That’s real, and it deserves criticism.
But that’s not what inversionism means. It’s not about hypocrisy or silence. It’s not about defending the West. It’s about reflexively inverting whatever “the West” claims, no matter the evidence, and siding with its enemies by default.
Inversionism is when someone denies Assad’s barrel bombings, defends Russia bombing hospitals, or claims chemical attacks were false flags, not because of facts, but because “Western media can’t be trusted.”
That’s different from someone failing to speak out against Israeli or Sudanese atrocities. Silence may reflect bias, fatigue, tribalism, or real complicity, but it’s not inversionism. It’s something else.
You're pointing to selective outrage. That's valid. But inversionism is something deeper: a worldview where truth is determined not by verification, but by oppositional alignment. That's what my work is describing.
The problem isn't choosing which injustices to focus on. It’s replacing verification with narrative loyalty. Truth becomes secondary to alignment. That’s what inversionism means.
This isn’t a call for silence on Palestine, Sudan, or Western Sahara. It’s a call for consistency: evidence matters, regardless of who it implicates.
Why bother even responding to a pure, screamy gaslighting account? Meant to sow division and smear people.
Well it certainly took Bellingcat an inconsistently long time to publish anything on Gaza
Initially our staff were working on other projects, and we weren't in a position where we could just drop them and start something new, but we've done multiple in depth investigations into Gaza since then.
So if someone’s upset about Max Blumenthal, it’s not because he critiques Western empire, it’s because he often defends authoritarian regimes by attacking victims and denying verified atrocities. That distinction matters.
Why bother even responding to a (clearly) pure, screamy gaslighting account? Meant to sow division and smear people.
If I can't explain my positions then I'm not much use.
Sure but to an obvious gaslighting troll account?
If the party line switched, a lot of these people would happily cheer on what's happening in Gaza, I'd suspect? That's really the point being made here?