Medium Publications by ILLUMINATION Writers
Introduction to Area 84
A publication by Sikander Hayat Khan
I’m not going to sugar-coat it — the world is in a dark place.
America’s West Coast is on fire, hundreds of thousands around the world have lost their lives to coronavirus, democracies are crumbling to ashes and racist abuse is ever so prevalent.
And in times where the future seems uncertain, we’ve set out in search for comfort — in a search for truth.
But the reality is, we’re engaged in a search for truth in an age of lies.
Misinformation is rampant, right-wing populists are chanting “fake news” and the media sometimes changes direction faster than an antelope being chased by a cheetah.
In times like this, it’s imperative that you have someone who can cut through the lies to uncover the truth.
And that’s where Area 84 comes in.
I’m a realist at heart, and I want the words housed in my publication to reflect that. I want to show my readers what the world is really like — regardless of what their president is saying.
I’m not a pessimist, but at the same time I don’t believe in spreading empty words of hope for the sake of it. Telling people everything’s rosy when it’s not is exactly how politicians get away with committing war crimes on the other side of the globe.
If we’re ever to hold the powers that be to account, we need to know the reality of what it is they’re doing.
How did this start?
Being a politics grad, and someone who’s always been interested in politics in general, writing about politics has been something that’s come naturally to me. It was no surprise that the first article that I wrote on this platform was political.
But the big question was, where was I supposed to send it?
Granted, I didn’t know much about publications at the time, but I soon realised that there was a shortage of politics-focused publications in comparison to say — self-help.
So, I decided to create my own.
And that has had specific benefits:
- I don’t get the “Thank you for your interest! Unfortunately we will have to pass this time” email.
- I get to be myself — no filter. I have strong opinions, and I will often say things which are controversial (but I wholeheartedly believe need to be said).
- And this way, I can publish things that others are thinking about but never say.
When you’re no-filter, you can share your raw opinions about current affairs or bring injustices happening around the world (of which sadly there are many) to peoples’ attention.
And speaking of injustices, the second focus of this publication is on Race.
Other than sharing my own story, I haven’t talked about it much. But there’s a very important reason why I’m not going to shut the door on that topic. As this publication grows, it will have more writers willing to share their stories and to contribute to the worldwide discussion, thereby helping bring about real and lasting change.
Given the state of the world we live in today, race is something we need to talk about — again and again.
We can only go up from here — literally, it has 2 followers.
This publication is still in it’s baby-phase. I won’t lie. But the stories are beginning to gain some traction. And that’s something that will only get better and better once the writer base grows.
If you’re interested, stick around till the end for more information.
The Audience
Al sinks into his arm chair, with a big cup of Joe in his hand, as he turns on the morning news.
“The president of the United States has just signed an executive order authorising military intervention in ___ to protect its peoples against WMD’s.”
“BS. They lied to us before and they’re lying to us again.” thinks Al.
Al is a realist.
Al is an Area 84 reader.
Area 84 is primarily targeting an audience which doesn’t take the news of the day at face-value.
No, this publication doesn’t advance conspiracies (unless they’re genuinely interesting, thought-provoking and have been clearly labelled as a conspiracy so the reader can come to their own conclusions). But, above all, what this publication aims to do is to give readers a dose of realism.
Politicians lie. And it’s this publication’s job to give its readers the unfiltered truth — as grim as it may be.
Sign up!
Great! You’ve made it this far. If you’re interested in being a writer, simply comment “I want to be a writer” below.
Your political opinions may be totally different to mine, and that’s absolutely okay. Taking in information from a variety of voices is only going to help the reader form a conclusion of their own.
Drafts and already-published pieces are both welcome.
Reality check
Since I like to talk about how I’m a realist, I should be real with you too. This publication may not have much to offer you at this stage, but if you climb aboard now, it may have a lot to offer you down the road. And at that point, it’ll feel like something that you helped to get off the ground and get it to where it is.
My commitment to you
With new publications, prospective writers may be worried about whether the editor will end up closing shop if the publication doesn’t take off fast enough.
I want to tell you that I have no intentions of giving up on this publication. Not only because I want to see it thrive, but because the messages it carries are far too important to never be delivered.
Oh, and I’ll do my best to tend to your draft within 24 hours — every time. I know what waiting for days and days for a ‘no response rejection’ feels like. I don’t want this publication to be that — at least at such an early stage. Pushing out content as fast as we can, whilst maintaining some semblance of quality, is going to be key in getting us in front of more eyes.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Some Samples from Area 84
Thanks to Dr Mehmet Yildiz