Some in Pakistani Social Media Give an Incorrect Image to Western Media
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Author:
Sidrah Zaheer
Tags:
conspiracies conspiracy theories constructive evidence educated class financial strata foreign reports Malala Malala Yousafzai Malala's shooting middle class Pakistani educated class Pakistani middle class Pakistani social media Pakistani social media users social media in Pakistan social media users western media
According to a leading German news outlet, Deutsche Welle, Pakistanis love conspiracy theories. The western media was compelled to say this after the view that Malala’s shooting was part of the conspiracy between the U.S. and Israel was spread across in the media. Although the numbers of people believing in this theory are not many since there has not been any constructive evidence toward it, however, the view still remains.
DW got to this conclusion because of the way social media users have been taking this whole issue online. From their Facebook posts to tweets on Twitter, the image that goes to people abroad is that Pakistanis really believe there is a foreign hand in shooting of Malala. The report in DW also highlight the fact that most of these social media users in Pakistan are educated and from a middle-class background.
Although the use of social media is spreading far and wide in the country, and is not specific to any particular financial strata, but for sure only the educated class in Pakistan is a social media user. This is one way how Pakistanis, who are educated, are portrayed in the Western media through a simple inference of their acts online. Although this is not the voice of Pakistan, but it has been projected as such.
How unfortunate that few in the educated class in Pakistan are still as informed as an uneducated class, solely because they do are not in a habit of finding the truth of a matter – which is not just one incident, but a whole series of them by connecting the dots – through going deeper into issues.
11:56 am
It is unfortunate that we keep seeing articles like this by Pakistanis, is ‘freedom of expression’ only a right that applies to you oh dear author? if someone believes that there’s a conspiracy in this whole drama, it’s totally their right to believe so and talk about it, you can agree or disagree but you cannot be judgmental. IMHO, it would be a good thing if some of us could rise above the inferiority complex and stop hailing everything hurled at us by west.
Green White used to be a site for Pakistan startups in particular and software industry in general, Lately I have been seeing articles unrelated to the subject matter here, there are a number of forums to discuss our political and social views, please keep green and white focused.
3:11 pm
Freedom of expression is everyone’s right, whether the views are agreeable or disagreeable. We don’t need to take everything seriously about us in the West.
What this article highlights is the fact that only our negative images are highlighted in the West. Previously, it used to be Pakistani print and electronic media. Now, Pakistani social media has also become a part of this anti-Pakistani image campaign.
Green & White is not just a forum for startups. It is a forum for Pakistani technology, which obviously includes startups.