Middle East Observer

Hey guys, Who are we? We're a small group of journalists, academics and volunteers who have been producing video translations (with English subtitles) related to Middle East politics, culture, and religion since 2010.  Our aim? We try to provide perspectives that are not usually covered by Western mainstream media, or if they are covered, are highly misrepresented, sensationalised, and distorted to suit certain editorial agendas.  Our work is aimed at providing alternatives to, and challenging the Western mainstream media's negative stereotypes and misrepresentations of the Middle East and its peoples, stereotypes that have been used as an instrument of power and control over this region for the last 200 years at least. You know, we're referring to the media coverage that makes the Middle East look primitive, irrational, violent, despotic, fanatical, and essentially inferior to the West. Through these depictions, Western media often implies that the "backward" and "traditional" values of this region need to be replaced by the “contemporary” and “progressive”  values of the West. Why do we need your support? Producing our high-quality video translations are by no means easy. For example, and not to mention software/hardware costs, a five minute video typically takes at least 4-5 high-focus hours to produce, as part of a long production chain that involves the following stages: 1. Searching for interesting raw material to translate and publish 2. Watching, analysing and researching that material 3. Determining what content is to be translated, and what is to be left out (often very tricky!) 4. Translating the content to be included 5. Video-editing, subtitling &amp; publishing 6. Promoting &amp; publicising the final product online on/through various platforms/networks 7. Monitoring, assessing &amp; responding to audience comments, feedback, reviews etc. 8. Monitoring, analysing and taking lesson from the video's ongoing analytics performance Traditionally we've worked as a very small team to produce these videos, but it has been on an irregular basis primarily due to lack of funding. By giving your support, even with something small, we'll be able to do this work more regularly and with higher quality. That means you can give us something as small as $1 every time we upload a video, essentially keeping our production line moving. Or, you can even put a monthly limit of $1, so you'll be supporting us for a maximum of one video/month. Still, that would go a long way, because with enough patrons pledging something small together, suddenly those individual small contributions become critical for our work to continue! Your support today will ultimately help create more understanding for tomorrow, about a region and it's peoples regarding which there is much misunderstanding.

Free

This is essential-level support to keep our work alive!

Core support

With this level of support you'll help provide us with longer-term sustainability.

Sustainable

This level of support enables us to expand the volume, scope and quality of our work!

Expansion

Enough patrons supporting us at this level enables us to consolidate this project and make it an online household name!

Middle East Observer

Choose your membership

Recent posts by Middle East Observer