In the Arab world, where freedom of expression and opposing voices have traditionally been silenced either through censorship, threat, imprisonment, or death, Al Jazeera has been an ongoing revolutionary act for nearly two decades.

As George Orwell famously put it, "In a time of deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act."  

In many ways, our mission at Al Jazeera mirrors Orwell's quote, giving voice to the dreams, frustrations, dissent, opinions, and aspirations of the millions of voiceless and faceless people from some of the most repressive places on earth.  

When Al Jazeera first came on the scene over two decades ago, media in the Arab region was completely dominated by Arab dictators. The sycophantic propaganda and the stranglehold on free expression exercised by these regimes promoted a one-sided view aimed at protecting their own power status. No room was left for the voices of opposition and dissent.

Our uncompromising pursuit of the truth and raw reality on the ground has made Al Jazeera loved by its audiences, but hated by governments.