NOTE FROM TED: This talk was delivered in February 2024.

The journalist, specializing in war correspondence, reflects on the challenges of modern communication, emphasizing extreme polarization on social media. They criticize the current state of war reporting for focusing too heavily on violence, advocate for a more compassionate journalism that highlights the human impact, and stress the importance of truth and empathy to improve discourse and heal societal divides.

Bel is The Independent’s awardwinning Chief International Correspondent, documentary filmmaker and photojournalist. Born and raised in the Gulf, Bel has covered the MENA region since the 2011 uprisings reporting on conflicts from Libya to Yemen. Bel, who also grew up in the Baltic States, widened her focus to Eastern Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reporting from the frontlines where she directed her first documentary “The Body in the Woods”. She has covered the war in Gaza since the start, the fourth war in the region Bel has reported from. Bel was named international journalist of the year at the UK Press Awards. She lived seven years in Cairo, then Jerusalem, Beirut and is now in Berlin.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx