اقرأ باللغة العربية I have met many diplomats from across the globe during my professional career, as well as foreign correspondents posted to Cairo and the Middle East. We would discuss political and economic conditions in Egypt and the region, and I would always try to explain the truth about events in order that they would then be able to correct any misinformation they might have received or might be tempted to convey. Some wanted to listen to the truth about what was happening in the region, but the majority had firm prior beliefs and preconceptions as well as other sources of information to keep them informed about events on the ground. Sometimes the latter were themselves participants or newsmakers. Such thoughts should be born in mind when attempting to answer the often-asked question of why the Western media and public opinion often do not understand the truth about what is happening in Egypt and the region. Or why the Egyptian and Arab media have failed to rectify the distorted image often conveyed to those following developments in Egypt and the Arab world. Although the state's foreign media platforms might be weak in terms of resources and funding, the message Egypt wants to convey to the world is understood by all the diplomats and staff of international organisations and institutions operating in Egypt. The same thing is true of the foreign correspondents based in the country who are able to walk freely through its towns and villages. I firmly believe that many of these people have better and more accurate information about the country than what appears in the sometimes warped picture of it given abroad. Some of them convey this honestly and with integrity overseas, but many alter the reality to fit their preconceptions. I would discover this during discussions, for example, when I usually preferred to listen rather than to speak in order to understand the reason a visitor had asked for a meeting. It is common practice for diplomats in particular to reach out to political, cultural and media figures in order to build bridges and formulate perceptions of the country they are posted in. When I met such people, I would always insist that meetings took place in my office at Al-Ahram Weekly and not at an embassy, for example, in order to underline the prestige of Al-Ahram and its publications. They understood the reasons for my preference, and most of them appreciated them. With foreign media correspondents things could be different, however. When a journalist arrived in Egypt, especially before or soon after the 25 January Revolution, it could be hard for him to meet Egyptian officials who would comment on events. Even today, many channels between foreign correspondents and Egyptian sources remain firmly shut. Before and shortly after the revolution, the Muslim Brotherhood groomed its spokespersons to meet foreign reporters, providing them with opinions that reflected this group's perspective on events and in essence working against the interests of the Egyptian state and serving Brotherhood conspiracies to take power. Some revolutionary activists played a similar role in their dealings with foreign correspondents, but they did not have the same impact as the Brotherhood representatives who were part of a media system that is connected digitally with other media outlets and in this respect is better networked than Egypt's official media. I will add that some correspondents came to Egypt with specific perceptions that they did not want to change, and these were not open to the different reality they found on the ground. They compiled their dispatches according to their preconceptions, usually toeing the line of whatever publication, news channel or news agency they worked for. This is what Egypt and its citizens were up against when efforts were made to explain the events that took place on 30 June 2013. Facts were incorrectly conveyed in the foreign media, ignoring the millions of people demonstrating in the streets and overlooking the rhetoric of violence, incitement and threat used by the Brotherhood and its supporters as well as its insistence on describing what took place as a “military coup”. Rectifying Egypt's image abroad or conveying the reality of events honestly and impartially will not only happen when foreign diplomats and correspondents know the truth about what is happening. Most of them already know the truth, and some of them have witnessed it directly or even participated in it. What Egypt and the Arab world needs is a system that addresses public opinion in foreign countries directly and goes beyond official diplomatic channels and the various foreign correspondents. Egypt needs media channels and outlets that can convey events in Egypt and an objective and professional message to public opinion throughout the world, as well as to foreign think tanks, decision-makers, investors and the business community. This requires vision and political will, as well as understanding its importance, things which unfortunately even today have not always been attained.
