Supporting Palestine and confronting media distortion in the series "Athena"

Actress Reham Hagag shared with her followers, via her official Instagram account, a clip from the third episode of the series “Athena,” in which she gives a lecture to media students, discussing how the Western media distorted the facts and conveyed an incorrect image of the Arab region, especially the Palestinian issue. Reham Hajjaj reveals how the West distorted the truth of the Palestinian cause Hajjaj stressed in her speech that the media does not merely present news, but rather creates stories that influence the public’s awareness, saying: “In the media, we don’t present news, we present a story. We can make people love the bad guy and hate the right guy. It all depends on how we present the story.”

She added that Western societies, especially in Romania, Norway and others, believed the image conveyed by the media and films for many years, because they had no other source of information. Reham Hajjaj posted the video on her Instagram account, with a short and expressive comment: “Palestine in the heart.” How has the West's view of the Palestinian issue changed? Reham Hagag confirmed during the episode that the false image of the region began to change with the emergence of social media, as Arabs became able to document events themselves, which contributed to conveying the truth to the public in foreign countries away from media manipulation. She explained that this development allowed the world to see reality from the point of view of the Arab peoples, and not only through the lenses of the Western media, which led to increased global support for the Palestinian cause. The story of the series

The events revolve around "Nadine" (Reham Hajjaj), a journalist who is forced to retire and stay away from her field of work for a while after experiencing a major crisis in her life. Nadine returns to practice her profession again after her sister "Mai" commits suicide through the world of the (Dark Web), so she embarks on a dangerous journey inside this world to discover its secrets and dangers.

The most prominent heroes of the series • Reham Hajjaj: In the role of “Nadine”, the journalist who seeks to uncover the mystery of her sister’s suicide. • Ahmed Magdy: In the role of “Youssef”, an investigative journalist who uncovers corruption cases. • Sawsan Badr: In the role of “Iman Al-Saadawi”, the dean of the university that Nadine joins. • Mahmoud Qabil: In the role of “Salah Yazan”, a pivotal character in the hospital involved in corruption cases. • Salwa Mohamed Ali: In the role of “Nadine and Mai’s mother”, who suffers from the loss of her youngest daughter. • Nabil Issa: In the role of “Adham”, a university professor who helps Nadine in her investigations. • Omar Al-Saeed: In the role of “Marwan”, a close friend of “Mai” who tries to help Nadine uncover the truth. • Jana Al-Ashqar: In the role of “May”, Nadine’s sister who commits suicide at the beginning of the events. • Tamer Hashem: In the role of “Salem”, a mysterious character linked to the world of the Dark Web.

The series is written by Mohamed Nayer and directed by Yahya Ismail, and is shown on Al-Hayat TV and Watch it digital platform.