It’s been a rough few days, or should I say, years for Egypt as I’m sure you’ve witnessed. We’ve held the biggest and most peaceful protests in the history of mankind, toppled dictators, and fought terrorists. Or as we call it in Egypt, Tuesday night.
But the world hasn’t seen the whole picture. We grow up knowing not to believe ‘everything we hear on the news’ which quite honestly baffles me. How did we get to the point where the news can’t be trusted? As a journalist, I can’t help but wonder where ethics and morale become optional. Where stone-cold facts become subjective and malleable.
But here’s the issue: unfortunately, as Egyptians we have a bit of a problem. We’re way too loud. It’s the passion, the pride, and all those spices in our food. And while the media has continued to report the wrong story, Egyptians are shouting left and right, shaming reporters for their biased and subjective coverage. I can’t deny, I’ve been guilty of it too. You can’t deny it’s frustrating to think that the world doesn’t know the right story. But yelling doesn’t change anything. It’s falling upon deaf ears because it’s too aggressive.
Just the other day, I was scrolling down my Twitter feed when I saw BuzzFeed post an article about the Egyptians falling off bridges to escape gunfire. When I clicked on the article, I read “Pro-Morsi supporters fall off bridge to escape gunfire from protestors and police.” Say whaaat?
The Egyptian part of me started boiling, WHAT? WHY? NO! When I came to, I replied calmly, telling the writer he was misinformed and that I would send him first-hand accounts from Egyptians on the ground proving that the Brotherhood (I refuse to give them the title Muslim) were shooting at civilians with AK-47s on the 15th of May Bridge, and they were jumping off the bridge to escape random gunfire.
A few tweets later and the article was changed. He then told me that he received the photo from a source claiming it was Pro-Morsi supporters getting attacked. Which goes to show you the extensive PR campaign taking place by the Brotherhood.
How would he have known what’s happening on Cairo’s streets? He’s getting his information from the news, and unless he’s following Sandmonkey or Adam Makary, then he’s probably unaware of what’s happening on the ground.
In fact, Sandmonkey just published his latest post highlighting the 4 biggest misconceptions by Egyptians, the third focuses on this exact point. “BE NICE TO FOREIGN JOURNALISTS. If you keep attacking or insulting them, they have every incentive to not listen to you”, he says.
Amen brother.
The brotherhood are smart. They’re organized and they’ve got a strong PR campaign. It’s time to give the world accurate portrayals (preferably without shouting and cursing) of what’s happening in Egypt with real first-hand testimonials and sources. And maybe, just maybe we’ll have a chance at unbiased and accurate coverage.