Qatar has found itself under immense media scrutiny since it won the right to host the 2022 World Cup. Much of that coverage has been critical and, some argue, harsher than that leveled at other countries hosting World Cups or Olympics.
In this guest post originally published by Al-Fanar, Justin D. Martin, an assistant professor of journalism at Northwestern University in Qatar, takes a closer look at how international journalists have covered the Gulf state in recent years.
Qataris are “as bent as an Arab’s dagger,” a BBC radio guest said in a discussion of the 2022 World Cup in November.
The BBC host didn’t challenge the racist comment. When my turn came to speak, I denounced the statement, though I was soon interrupted – the BBC host didn’t want to address the slur and said only that the man’s microphone had been cut off.
Such a scabrous comment about both Arabs and Qataris on a major news broadcast is rare, but it plays to the belief many Qataris have about news coverage of both their nationality and Arabs in general.
Among vocal Qataris who follow global news, a common belief is that Qatar is unfairly targeted by Western journalists, who feel the World Cup should be in one of their countries. Some Qataris even feel such coverage is driven by racism.
Outside Qatar, typical criticisms are that the country has little to no soccer tradition, is unfit to host the World Cup given its small size and extreme weather, treats migrant workers abysmally, resists gender equality, and won World Cup hosting rights with graft.
Both sides are partly right.
Disproportionate scrutiny
It seems unprecedented that a country set to host a World Cup in 7.5 years is getting the amount of coverage it is.
Russia, which is also hosting two Olympics this decade, violates the rights of more people than Qatar, though Russia was not as big a target for negative coverage in 2011 for its 2018 World Cup as Qatar is now.
Nor did Brazil endure Qatar-proportionate scrutiny seven years before its World Cup. There are many more editorials and op-eds on why Qatar should not host the World Cup than why Russia shouldn’t, even though Putin’s chalice is in just three years.
Every country that hosts the Olympics or World Cup must brace for negative attention. If the 2022 World Cup stays in Qatar, Qataris will see sustained coverage of abuse of laborers, a jailed poet, arrests of foreign journalists, laws criminalizing being gay or unwed and pregnant, and more.
But the very coverage of the first Arab World Cup is also fair game for scrutiny.
One of my Qatari undergraduates, Alanood Al-Thani, who is distantly related to the country’s ruling family and has been publicly vocal on Qatar’s human-rights lapses, makes a good point:
“When you see all of these news articles that are coming out, I agree with most of them, but…there is not one single Qatari perspective,” she told Public Radio International in June.
Stories from outlets like Huffington Post, Daily Beast, and AFP, to name a few, do not include quotes from a single Qatari, only official statements from the occasional Qatari institution.
Many Western journalists writing about Qatar have never visited the country, do not know a single Qatari, and repurpose stories on Qatar from other news outlets while at their desks in New York, D.C., or London.
And yet, Qatari media observers may look back on 2010 to 2015 as a honeymoon period for media coverage.
US coverage
In a six-nation survey of media behaviors and attitudes in the Arab world released in April by Northwestern University in Qatar, just 7 percent of Qataris said international news organizations are biased against their country.
Far more, 19 percent, said global news media are biased in favor of Qatar, and most Qataris said coverage is fair. This could mean, as of April, Qatari nationals were largely inattentive to negative, international coverage of their country. It could also mean Qataris do pay attention to negative coverage but think it’s fair or even a helpful influence.
Such attitudes may change. Since Qatar was awarded FIFA hosting rights in 2010, and until the recent extradition of FIFA officials from Switzerland to the U.S. on charges of bribery and corruption, much coverage of Qatar in U.S. news organizations focused on Qatar business deals, diplomatic summits, or the expansion of Qatar Airways.
Now, though, U.S. news outlets seem to be nearing British media in the intensity (and snark) of Qatar-suspicious coverage. The kind of story that was on PBS on June 17 – “Migrant laborers worked to death as Qatar builds for World Cup” – was more likely to be seen two years ago in British outlets, as was this viral Washington Post graphic on Qatar World Cup worker deaths. (The graphic was erroneous, but instead of retracting the story The Post performed a tortuous revision and correction).
Qatar is not so popular in parts of the Arab world. It has been criticized for meddling in the affairs of Egypt, Libya, Syria, and elsewhere. It is also viewed as opposing uprisings close to home, as in Bahrain.
In 2010, Qatar won rights to host the World Cup just two weeks before a Tunisian fruit vendor immolated himself and, riding high from the FIFA victory, thrust itself into the conflicts in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, where at least two of those uprisings gave way to sustained chaos.
“Uniquely among regional states, Qatari officials saw the outbreak of unrest in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya…as an opportunity to be seized, rather than a challenge to be contained,” wrote Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute, in his book, Qatar and the Arab Spring.
This, along with a general bias against nouveau riche, likely means Qatar will face ongoing criticism not just from Western media, but also Arab journalists. Arab criticism will likely come despite that Qatar-sympathetic news coverage about the World Cup is pledged by some of the emirate’s Arab Gulf partners.
Either way, with U.S. media enthralled by recent FIFA arrests, critical coverage of Qatar will likely continue to rise, and the number of Qataris who feel global coverage of their state is negative may increase.
The work of both Qatar supporters and critical commentators seems influenced by race or the belief that others are racist; journalists are waging more, and earlier, criticism against Qatar than they level at non-Arab states hosting major sporting events.
Qatar supporters claim racist bias is a primary reason news media are highlighting the country’s real problems. Many journalists now covering Qatar’s human-rights problems are sports writers and soccer fans who have little to no history of reporting on social issues. It’s great that they now wish to write about things that matter, but the specific shift does arouse suspicion.
I wrote in The New Republic in 2014 that Qatar should keep the Cup because, unlike some other countries that host international sporting events, like the UAE, Russia, and China, Qatar responds to coverage of its human-rights record with occasional reform.
If the 2022 Cup is relocated, it is likely coverage of human rights issues in Qatar will recede, as may would-be improvements.
Another article, also in The New Republic, by one law and one economics professor from the University of Chicago, argued Qatar does more per capita to combat global income inequality than any wealthy country, as well over half the country’s population consists of migrant workers from poor countries.
A relocated World Cup would not help Qatar’s roughly 1.4 million migrant workers, which is what many journalists and human rights activists say they care about.
Qatar’s high global profile and hosting of the World Cup is unsettling to both the country’s skeptics and supporters, the former due to the country’s successes and the latter due to blunt media criticism, but the soccer tournament in seven years may just provide both sides with what they claim they desire.
Thoughts?
Ugh, if you don’t want your country to be put under scrutiny, then be transparent, as simple as that.
Agreed. While much is true in this article, the fact is that Qatar can better counter the negative narrative by simply putting a just legal and labour system in place – now, not in the future. Tolerance at home will increase tolerance from the outside world. I hope Qatar keeps the world cup, because the spotlight that comes with it can only lead to improvements. A free country thrives on transparency and scrutiny.
“Qataris are “as bent as an Arab’s dagger,” a BBC radio guest said in a discussion of the 2022 World Cup in November.”
So one guest, not an employee of the BBC represents the racist campaign against Qatar. Using that logic then Islamic State speak for all Muslims worldwide.
Poor journalism. I might as well say a man down the bar told me Qatar bribed FIFA to get the World Cup. Must be true.
The rest isn’t much better.
I see the writer, Martin, refers to the recent Arab media use survey that he and his colleagues undertook. What is interesting regarding Qatar is the following (with the government sensored version of the questions in brackets) and the amount of locals that don’t believe in free speech, which might explain the negativity regarding foreign media: Fifty-seven percent of Qataris believe in freedom to criticize powerful institutions on the internet (asked as right to criticize “powerful institutions” in Qatar, phrased as “government” in all other countries). A slight majority believes expressing opinions about public issues is safe, and feel comfortable doing so (53% and 52%, respectively, more than all other countries, though “public issues” was worded as “politics” in all other countries). Qataris are somewhat less comfortable talking about public issues today than in 2013 (59% vs. 52% in 2015). Many Qataris worry about companies (37%) and powerful institutions (41%) checking their online activity. Perhaps consequently, two in three Qataris support tighter internet regulation, higher than all other countries (47%)… Eighteen to 24 year-olds are more likely to support free speech online in theory, but they are less comfortable expressing their own personal views…. However, despite more comfort expressing their own views, 25-34 year-olds are more concerned about being monitored online by external sources like companies (33% 18-24 vs. 45% 25-34) and powerful institutions (37% 18-24 vs. 51% 25-34). http://www.mideastmedia.org/2015/chapter/focus-on-qatar.html#subchapter3
Can’t take the criticism. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera produces stuff like this number https://youtu.be/qRYW_I60xoM to mark the July 4th Independence Day in the USA. It seems rather comical to go around talking about media bias when you national media arm produces vile, bigoted bits like this. You reap what you sow I guess. Could one imagine if a video was produced like this about Qatar? Someone would be stoned.
Yeah I saw that video making rounds on FB yesterday and was floored that it came from AJ, the government news source of the country that has been consistently screaming racism quite a lot lately. Don’t dish it out if you can’t take it…..
Americans are a race now?
Are the Qataris? Have you seen the genetic diversity, it goes from darkest black, to whitest white. Just speaking Arabic doesn’t make you a race.
I never said Qataris are a race.
No, but the implication of racial bias by “western media” is pretty constant. Which to your point. America’s media is a mix of lots of races, to include Arab. So…doesn’t fit the Qatar narrative.
How is, in any way this video vile or bigoted? And how is AJAM’s 90 second video ‘media bias’ when PBS, CNN and shows such as the daily show and last week tonight and The Newsdesk have spent far more time talking about these issues of America being number one in incarceration, obesity, gun violence, teen pregnancy etc etc?
It’s not media bias to point out factual information that most people are clearly aware of.
This is simple. Its about perspective/perception. When one watches the Daily Show, they understand its humor, not news. When one watches CNN or the BBC or Al Jazeera materials – these are to be serious, real news, not comedic routine. America knows its issues, that is not the point. The point of this piece is to literally poke fun at an entire society on an international medium, from what is supposed to be a trusted and serious news source. Hence my comments. It would be like the US President giving an international speech where he makes a 90 second joke about the people of another nation. Which is why it is bigoted. As a credible news organization (the Daily Show is not that), they should not engage in that type of behavior. This video pokes fun at the people – not the government or anything else. Maybe if I made a video just like this about Qataries, or Africans, or Indians, or Brits someone might find it…..offensive…to say the least. Now consider the source.
I will have to disagree with you on two points.
First, The Daily Show is incredibly informative and newsworthy..far more newsworthy & informative than most of the major network news programs in the US, how can you claim it is not credible?
Secondly, the 90 second clip was informative and perhaps news to many americans.
Perhaps it is in fact newsworthy to take note on July 4th that America is number one in some areas not worth celebrating. The clip is slightly farcical but not critical, it was not poking fun at any one but simply informing people of certain aspects, social issues that are specific to America – i for one had no idea that America consumes 80% of the worlds pain medication.
If Fox news had done it with Qatar as it’s subject the cry would have been bigotry, racism, and one or two other chants as well. I am stunned that it could have been produced by an outlet that portrays itself as a serious news channel. Insensitive.
Could this country forget the world cup and instead just go about improving the plight of the workers and the abusive practices carried out by their sponsors and the guys who treat them like salves. They need to prioritize this before getting into anything else. The more they keep on denying it the more it comes to the fore
The Daily Show is “informative and newsworthy”? What a load. Jon Stewart hid behind “comedy” when he was actually pushing a very slanted left-wing agenda. Anyone getting their “news” from this source is sadly uneducated and misinformed. I like Jon Daily’s humor (like I like George Carlin’s humor;) however, to say that he is “newsworthy” is an incredible reach. No matter what your political bent, CNN, SkyNews, Fox and Al Jazeera are true news/current event stations. Comedy Central is no such beast.
Actually, John Stewart is a comedian and was hired as the host of The Daily Show as a Comedic host, so i can’t agree that he hid behind comedy, given that is his job.
I’m trying to work out what his slanted left wing agenda is.., not to kill people? not to be racist? not to use drone strikes to kill masses of people? That people should be treated equally?
John Stewart is a host, he has a large team of talented writers.
Historically he has gone harder on George W than Obama, but George W and Darth Chaney Vader left themselves wide open for ridicule;;eg; “mission accomplished”. Fox news is not a news source, look at their actual news content compared to their ‘opinion’ segments & programs..Sky news, also owned by Murdoch is much the same. Then look at what they cover and where they have invested resources.
I suggest you also look at how CNN have allocated their budget over the last few years and how they now allow add-vitorials as news content.
The BBC & Al Jazeera both have invested in content, correspondents etc but both also have a political bent but attempt to report the news as the news.
The Daily show & Last Week tonight are both news & current affairs shows, they dont report the days news but they certainly investigate and report on leading current affairs stories. Fox ‘news’ isnt worth even considering as news, it’s full on right wing bigoted hatred, and does not even pretend to be anything but bigoted. It is Murdoch ‘ press’ at its finest..
Fox news is true news source- LOL. That speaks much about you if you think Fox news is a respected news source. Jon Stewart is a respected show that presents a liberal POV. And he acknowledges it calling himself that. As for their program it is factual. They take their info from actual reports.and yes they poke fun at Fox news. As long as you have a news network like Fox news, I guess a lot many writers would be out of jobs. The hypocrisy and the laughable biased attitude that Fox news have is exposed by Jon Stewart.
As an American living in America, I find this video hilarious and accurate. It certainly isn’t racist or bigoted in any way, unlike our own media which consistently targets countries based on their predominant ethnicity and religion. I feel ashamed to be an American when I see all those ‘terrorist’ comments on the video, however. It makes me feel like renouncing my citizenship. :/
Stereotyping, racist jokes, etc can be both hilarious and accurate, depending on who the viewer is or is not. That doesn’t diminish what it is or is portending to be. The media in the US is a mixed bag, and it depends on who is doing the reporting, so its not accurate to say ALL media is the same or consistently targets counties. Furthermore, there are idiots and bigots everywhere, just read the threads on this site and you get an idea, so stating you want to renounce your citizenship because there are people you disagree with is a bit heavy handed. I think there are about 2 billion people in the world that would be thrilled to have your passport, so maybe you could trade straight up with them? Did you know that Qatar leads the world in diabetes? Or Obesity (when you use medical records not media polls)? Or Land Cruiser caused fatalities? Maybe if CNN made a you tube clip about fat Qataris being ferried about in Land Cruisers crushing less than important migrant workers beneath their tires you might find this hilarious too (for the record this is sarcasm not my opinion)? Its not the video you see, its the source. Americans are good at laughing at their issues and moving on. Its part of the culture. But when a news outlet that states its a serious news agency gets into the satire game, then it becomes something tinted with bias. Especially given all the current rhetoric in Qatar. Context matters a great deal. So its easy to sit in America and laugh about this, but in Qatar, this is less than funny.
I can see where you’re coming from. Though I personally don’t think that pointing out the fact that the US has the highest incarceration rates in the world entitles commentators to spew bigoted comments associating Al Jazeera/Arabs/Qatar with terrorism and other fun stuff. Just the same, I would find it wildly inappropriate to associate America with such things as cheese burgers and slack-jawed gun-toting hillbillies. I agree that it is hypocritical of Al Jazeera to poke fun at Americans, but I hardly consider presenting a number of unflattering facts to be bigoted or stereotypical. In the same sense, if CNN produced a similar video on Qatar, sticking only to verifiable (keyword here) facts, I wouldn’t consider that bigoted. For what it’s worth, I fully approve of and encourage bringing attention to labor abuses, kafala system, lack of freedom, etc. in Qatar. There are fine distinctions, however, between stereotyping based on ethnicity/race/religion/nationality; bringing attention to important issues; or simply poking fun (I’m proud of our superiority in world cheese production, btw :P). I don’t believe any (or most?) of the facts presented in the video could possibly be interpreted as stereotypes as they are based on fully verifiable figures, some of which are related to the most important issues America is facing today. I see little justification in being up in arms simply because these facts were reproduced by a foreign outlet. I don’t know, maybe I’m just jaded from the numerous criticisms I’ve seen leveled at America since time immemorial.
On Qatar’s National day I want to publish a similar article on Qatar and see how that goes over. Lol
I don’t believe that is a racist comment. In my understanding of the phrase there is no suggestion that Arabs themselves are corrupt, simply that Khanjars etc are notably and obviously bent/curved.
Does Sheikh Tamim know you’re publishing photo’s of his back yard?
What a holier than thou *ss kisser. It’s very hard to take this guy seriously.
Given he represents a journalism school, how about an in depth investigative piece that clears Qatar of all charges? Now that would be useful piece of journalism. But instead its another whinging piece that simply whines about the attacks of others rather than adequately refuting them. With only one play (cry racism to distract everyone) the playbook is getting old.
For the record, I think Qatar should retain it’s right to host the WC. The system was corrupt, and by definition one could not have a winning bid without breaking rules. Thus, in effect, there were no rules. Thus to punish Qatar would be ridiculous.
Agree the FIFA system is corrupt, but never has that resulted in a tournament to be played in summer in a climate such as Qatar’s, or in a country that frankly is unaffordable to legions of football fans. Qatar wins – football loses.
It was never going to be played in summer in Qatar. FIFA and the other just had to pretend it was.
I’m not suggesting Qatar is the best place to host the tournament. Obviously, and according to FIFA’s own logistics study, it isn’t. I just think it is ridiculous to pull away the winning bid for corruption when the system itself was inherently corrupt.
Can’t believe what I’ve just read. A mixture of skewed logic, phobia, and misunderstanding, and missing the one pivotal issue that has set off the tsunami of coverage and criticism of Qatar – the world’s love of football, I do not criticise WC2022 in Qatar because I want it in my own country, or because I’m racist – I criticise it because on the basis of a fair and honest competition to find a suitable venue for a summer WC Qatar quite patently shouldn’t have had a ghost of a chance of winning it, a point proved by the subsequent switch to a “winter” tournament. I’ve spent a month at a World Cup, attended by 100’s of 1000’s of ordinary people who flew budget airlines or cheap rail, drove in their cars or campervans, to stay in cheap hotels or on camping sites. Opposing fans partied together (yes and some got drunk) and the atmosphere was incredible. I believe that the 5″ Qatar WC has no intention of letting any of that happen, In the absence of any other reason I believe that WC2022 represents the first time the glory of a country has come first and football and it’s worldwide fanbase has come a distant second. That is my criticism, and it’s the football world’s criticism
I’m not a fan of Qatar in any regards, but Martin is absolutely on point with everything he’s written. Whether Qatar deserves to host the World Cup and whether it has endured disproportionate criticism are two separate issues. It would outright absurd to answer ‘no’ to the latter statement (and even more absurd to answer ‘yes’ to the former). I’m sick of trying to find actual news on Qatar and being bombarded with 10 whole pages of attack articles relating to the 2022 World Cup. It’s ridiculous. I can’t think of any other country which gets such consistently negative media attention besides Iran or Israel.
Qatar maybe held to stricter standards than others.Happy, that It is holding its head pretty high through all this turbulence. Human rights allegations are not entirely false. Why all the mollycoddling?
There are a few options open to Qatar to deal with this problem:
a) Accept the criticism, and eliminate the the problems associated with the criticism.
b) Employ an army of ‘bots to refute the criticism in the international media – a la Russia / Israel
c) Don’t care about the criticism and tell the critics that they can ‘swivel’
d) Take one of the primary focal points of the criticism, legislate to make it even worse, and tell the critics they can ‘Super Swivel’
OK – option chosen
Lived there for 2 years, saw first-hand not only how poorly treated migrants are but also the complete lack of ability to ‘organise’ anything. I was there at the Asian Cup Final where I not only feared for the safety of my family when a stadium with more than 20 entrances was reduced to just 2 and we were just about crushed. That same night thousands with tickets were locked out 30 minutes before the kick-off because the ‘authorities’ fearing an empty stadium in front of FIFA had allowed the migrant workers access before the match to look around the stadium but then ‘forgot’ to send them out in advance of ticket holders arriving.
And you want to talk about racism? Just try spending 5 minutes in any official office as a migrant worker, including westerners and you’ll understand racism. Never been on the end of it as a white, middle-class westerner until I lived in Qatar.
Football heritage? I used to go regularly to Al Khor stadium for matches and the westerners outnumbered the Qataris every time.
As ever, Qatar sees only what it wants to believe without ever turning the microscope on itself. The article about students and parents complaining about exam results is the perfect example of the skewed, entitlement driven view.