S4E4 South Africa elections: worldviews in 'the West' vs 'the rest'

Media Storm

As South Africans head to the polls, Media Storm is seizing the opportunity to break out of the Western worldview.

Last season, former UN Security Council President Kishore Mahbubani criticised the "arrogance" of the UK media and its failure to expose people in 'the West' to how 88% of the world's population see things differently to them.

South Africa gives us some clues as to why. Their coverage of the raging conflict in Gaza paints a far more black-and-white narrative of events, condemning Israeli "apartheid" and "genocide" against Palestinians. Meanwhile, coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine muddies the stark solidarity expressed in Western media.

We speak to South African Political Analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela, comedian Tats Nkonzo, and South African former politician Andrew Feinstein about Israel-Palestine and Russia-Ukraine. And we hear from South Africans spanning classes, genders, races, ages to hear how their voting today – collectively, their testimonies tell us as much about our own democracies as theirs.

Hosts: Helena Wadia (@helenawadia) and Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall)

Music: @soundofsamfire

Support us on Patreon! patreon.com/MediaStormPodcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices