LISTEN | Russia-Ukraine conflict: SA and other developing countries 'don’t have to take sides'

Comedian Trevor Noah has called out alleged double standards in media coverage of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

In a recent episode of The Daily Show, the SA-born host shared several viral clips of reporters reporting on how Ukraine was not a “developing nation or third world country”. 

The reporters said the country was a “prosperous middle-class region” and the scenes of Ukrainians fleeing war were “unimaginable compared to those living in Africa or the Middle East”.

Trevor criticised the reporters for being stunned by the violence unfolding in a “relatively civilised” and “relatively European” country.

He said the reports insinuated that war or conflict is only expected in Africa and the Middle East, not in Europe.

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“I don’t know about you but I have been glued to the TV all weekend watching all the news,” explained Trevor.

“And beyond the war itself, there’s a really interesting thing that I learnt and that is a lot of people on TV didn’t expect a war like this to happen in, let’s say, certain neighbourhoods.

“Beyond the racism, like let’s forget the racism ... oh how I wish we could forget about the racism. You do realise that until very recently that fighting crazy wars was Europe’s thing. That’s all of European history, they even had something called the Hundred Years’ War ... they got a Noble Prize because they stopped fighting, imagine that.”

Trevor said following a war on social media was one of the strangest experiences of the modern world.

“All the other stuff on social media doesn't go away, it just gets mixed in together. 

“My whole timeline this week was 'Ukrainian civilians picking up weapons, rocket hitting a building ... [viral meme] Uncut gems. Tanks rolling into Kyiv ... Uncut gems. Uniting the people of Ukraine ...Did I say uncut gems?',” Trevor said.