Do you think the mainstream media and even social media paints an unrealistic stereotype of Muslims?

To what “unrealistic stereotype” are you referring? What I see is a depiction of Muslims-as-everybody-else-except-for-a-very-few-(by percentage)violent-extremists.

I agree with @canidmajor . We need to define what this ‘unrealistic image’ is.

I’d say the mainstream media bends over backwards to say that it is not ALL muslims who cause trouble, but only a small minority.

If you want to point fingers, look at right wing politicians who use the big-bad-muslim meme as a scare tactic for their political ends.

No more than others are misrepresented or stereotyped. The intensity of negative references is more or less unavoidable as stuff blows up. After all it isn’t stories about “good Muslims” that grab attention.

Mainstream media?

Distort image of some Muslims to that of being harmless in hopes of embarrassing the political right.

Social media?

Fall for said distorted image and spread it wherever it can.

I don’t know what the Irish mainstream media is broadcasting. I think the BBC is doing a good job reminding people that the destruction is being done by a violent Muslim minority—if people are hearing it. After all the shit Europe has been through with these groups, I find the BBC reportage quite remarkable and responsible. When a whole population is frightened into near panic, a kind of myopia, a tunnel vision sets in and they hear what they want.

Social media is another question entirely. Social media is anarchy. It is a place where some people are promoting wisdom and others promoting panic and hatred in indiscriminate shotgun blasts. In a few countries the worst is censored to prevent reprisals upon innocents. But for the most part Social media is uncensored and truthfully reflects the variations among the people and what they are thinking – but not in the proportions that they are thinking it. I suspect a lot of the activity on some of the more negative sites is due to other people rubbernecking as if witnessing a train wreck, lurkers. It is also a place that can tell you about what kind of person you really are by what you find most attractive.

Yes.

In America it matters somewhat what channel/media you tune into. With the recent, horrific, event that happened in Orlando, FL, USA, our local media (I assume this was broadcast nationally and internationally also, but I don’t know for sure, because literally Orlando is local to my location) showed local political leaders, police chief, and FBI in a Q&A where also there was a Muslim leader who works with local government for many years now. The Muslim leader had a chance to speak at the mic about the Muslim communities condemnation about what happened and their solidarity with our city against anything like what happened.

If you ask me, the best way for Muslims to be represented well
in the media is to have more and more Muslims represented as average Americans. I say American simply because I live in America. For Muslims to be in our sitcoms, and hour drama shows. Forget the news. The news wants to create controversy. It is good for reporters and journalists and our Facebook friends to talk about being Muslim and represent as average Muslims, but I think the larger audience is the average audience watching every day tv shows. We don’t have enough of that.

Right now in America the republicans are obsessing over Obama not using the term “radical Islam” or “Muslim extremists.” I think, if it was radical Christians or radical Jews, people wouldn’t be so fast to use such terms.