We all know it's over – well, maybe except for Donald Trump – but people are still talking about November 03. So, get prepared to be entertained by ‘news reporting’ on the US presidential election from the perspective of a non-American – exactly like how sanctimonious-pretending Americans report on elections.
The person responsible for this is Patrick Gathara (right), a Kenyan journalist and political commentator and cartoonist and he shared his insight on the current popular topic in the Land of the Free: "Many people are finding what is going on in the US very comical for a country especially that has been at the forefront of painting itself as this developed democracy teaching everybody else about how to run efficient and credible elections and it turns out that they were preaching water while drinking wine, so at home, they were incubating dictatorship and authoritarianism as we have seen in the last 4 years".
On Monday of last week, he applied his skillsets in a Twitter thread that satirizes the colonialist faux-objectivity with which American journalists tend to embrace. A sample of his tweets:
“#BREAKING Polls are set to open in 48 hours across the US as the authoritarian regime of Donald Trump attempts to consolidate its hold over the troubled, oil-rich, nuclear-armed, north American nation. Analysts are sceptical the election will end months of political violence”.
“#BREAKING African envoys have called for Americans to maintain peace during the elections and to be prepared accept the outcome of the vote. In a joint statement , the diplomats condemned recent incidents of incitement, violence and intimidation directed at opposition supporters”.
“#BREAKING Milton Allimadi, head of the African election observer group, urged US media to be responsible in its reporting, and take care not to inflame the already tense situation. "We urge American journalists to preach the gospel of peace and acceptance of election results".
“#BREAKING The US election comes at a time when the country is reeling from a series of humanitarian disasters including a pandemic that has claimed nearly a quarter million lives and brought its economy to the brink of collapse, exacerbating already fraught ethnic tensions”.
“#BREAKING Businesses in the US capital, Washington, are boarded up as the approaching presidential election sparks widespread tension and fear. The first African journalists to travel deep into the heart of the troubled country report armed militia roaming the streets”.
“#BREAKING African aid agencies sound the alarm over the potential for post-election violence to exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the crisis-wracked US. Aid workers are calling on the international community to do more to protect the civilian population”.
“#BREAKING African envoys have expressed concern over local media reports that US President, Donald Trump, intends to declare victory on Monday, a day before the country's presidential election is held. The envoys urged the autocrat to wait until all votes have been counted”.
It's a good (read: scathing) reminder of how journalistic objectivity can mask condescension. Not only that but it’s absolutely spot-on and hilarious even! I’ve never laughed so hard before!
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