A 5 seconds long video has circulated the internet since yesterday and gathered up to 36.5K views on Twitter, so far, partially because it’s funny and partially because the Lebanese people found it very relatable.
An elderly woman who was just interviewed by reporters freaked out when she misheard that they were from OTV, and was even about to attack them.
The journalist who conducted the interview shared the video on Twitter, saying: “She asked us about the name of the media channel after the interview, and she misheard the name for ‘OTV’. The important thing is that my colleague and I left in one piece.”
The video is hilarious indeed, however, it perfectly captures the anger and high sensitivity that the Lebanese people have developed towards politically biased TV channels.
TV stations that belong to political parties in Lebanon, like OTV, Al Manar, NBN, and others have been around for a long time. Yet, since the October 17 revolution took off, people have been rejecting them, and for a good reason.
OTV, which is owned by Al-Tayyar political party (FPM) of president Aoun, has been especially disliked, to say the least, since its mission and media activities all revolve around defending and empowering the party, its founder, and its current head Gebran Bassil, as well as its political allies.
On many occasions during the Lebanese people’s uprising, it was evident that the TV station didn’t take an unbiased media stance in conveying the truths.
Instead, it has been determined to constantly condemn and defame the people revolting for their civic rights, which added to their pain and anger.
After ignoring to cover the revolution in its early days, OTV then decided to send its reporters to the streets to cover the uprising, all while continuing to smear and discredit the people’s reputation and demands.
That has compelled the people to refute them and some even kicked them out of the revolution’s sites; not always politely.
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