What is 'Truth' and To What Extent Can We Expect It From News Media In Our Home Countries?

To define "Truth" is as easy as defining the exact location of an electron in an orbital at any given moment, that is to say it is nigh on impossible. However we can say that truth is relative and we can generally distinguish between non-truths and things that resemble truths. Some people may try to define truth as being statements that are made in accordance to facts, but then that begs the question "what is fact?" and indeed, what may be fact now may become misconception in the future (for example, a long time ago, it was a 'fact' that the earth was flat).

For the purpose of this discussion let us argue that the 'truth' is the closest version of the truest account of events regarded from as many perspectives as possible.

Whether you take 'my country' to be the United Kingdom (My official nationality and where I was raised) or Egypt (My ethnicity and where I was born) the answer remains the same; No. In fact, I would argue that no country in the world harbors any single news media outlet capable of presenting the truth. Whether aware or unaware, intentional or unintentional, malice or benign- the news is produced by people, humans. Humans all have a subconscious prejudice; they will always inside themselves lean one way or the other and that will always find its way of projecting itself into the writing. We all have a basic need to 'pick a side' in any issue. Also, even if it were a perfectly written non-biased piece, then the subconscious prejudice that will shield you from 'the truth' is in fact yourself.

For one to obtain a full truth, and they could only do so if they were successful in disengaging their own subconscious bias, one would have to observe and digest all the news media available surrounding a certain topic and successfully distinguish 'fact' from 'fiction.'

The exception to this matter of course is stories that cover events such as fires or natural disasters and the likes of which that do not entail any opinionated orientation.

-Aly Zein Mohamed