“Don’t always believe what you see on TV”

In todays world, we cant help but believe what we see on tv, read on the internet or see in films. We can all admit that we’re victims of it. It can range from merely a “fun fact” all the way to the global misunderstandings when it comes to a severe misinterpretation with misleading headlines. This article will focus on the latter.

“You have to cover up”

“You can’t show any skin”

“You can only live there if you’re Muslim”

Time and time again, these are phrases I have heard regarding life in the Middle East. Do the people who are producing these statements have any experience? Why are we believing them? It has to change.

Life in the Middle East, whether you’re Muslim or not, is misconstrued on a daily basis, whether its word of mouth gossip or national news. 

I’m completely aware that certain policies occur in the middle east, that even myself can’t agree with and that there are some polices that are just too harsh. But that doesn’t mean the whole society is backwards, does it?

Where are people getting these opinions from? What happened to the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover? 

All I can say is: Experience it.

This has to stop now. I am a firm believer in the idea that news is and will always be global, it’s always accessible. So why isn’t there a measure that prevents news that is bias, wrongly miscommunicated or just simply incorrect from being published. Why are we subject to believing everything we see on the news, or even hear from people we know?

Imagine if when speaking about Germany or England, you heard to words “You can’t live there unless you’re German” or “Is it ok for people who aren’t English to live there… is it safe?”

I understand it may not be as easy as I make it sound, maybe you haven’t got the ability to just “Experience it”, however I believe it all starts with not what you say, but how you say it. We’re all curious, that’s why you’re still reading this post, right?

“Don’t you have to wear an abaya? What about those face things that cover you up?”

How about; “How do you dress out there?”, “How is it living there?”

It all comes back to “don’t believe everything you see on TV” as we all know most mothers would say. 

Newspapers and magazines like The Sun, The Daily Mail, The Daily Star are all there to miscommunicate news and people’s understandings through their daily news. I want to fight for the right for nationals to correct these stereotypes that are flooding the globe. I want people to know that not every Muslim woman is expected to cover up, that not every Tamil man is forced into an arranged marriage, and that not every Brit wears flipflops when its above 15 degrees centigrade (ok, so that one is wholly true). But do you see what I mean? We need to implement more measures into preventing the misconstruction of media, whether it is a “fun fact: or whether it really is a bias piece of news, that will affect the lives and opinions of others.

“Don’t always believe what you see on tv”.