The Israeli military killed a Hamas terrorist in Gaza who also worked as a photojournalist for Al Jazeera, the Jewish state said on Sunday. On Monday, an official White House social media account cited the channel, which the Qatari government funds, as an example of accurate news coverage that pushes back against “fake” reports that Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani snubbed U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
“A lot of biased media outlets and Democrats were pushing a fake narrative yesterday about the talks in Switzerland,” the White House account stated. “Here’s the real story from people actually in the room,” it added, linking to an Al Jazeera English story.
Kurt Schwartz, CEO of the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis, told JNS that “while CAMERA is not in a position to determine what occurred in a private meeting or whether any alleged snub took place or was intentional, we caution that Al Jazeera should not be treated as an impartial or authoritative arbiter of the dispute.”
“Al Jazeera is not an independent news organization in any ordinary sense,” Schwartz said. “It is a Qatari state-funded outlet with a long record of promoting Hamas-friendly narratives, disseminating antisemitic material and employing or platforming individuals connected to terrorist organizations.”
“Readers should bear Al Jazeera‘s history and record in mind when assessing its coverage of Qatar’s diplomacy, Hamas or conflicts in which Qatar has a direct political stake,” he told JNS.
Mike Fegelman, executive director of HonestReporting Canada, told JNS it should “raise alarm bells for those following the situation closely” to see the White House citing Al Jazeera “as an authoritative source on negotiations between Iran and the United States.”
“Al Jazeera isn’t an independent observer. It’s an outlet funded by the Qatari government—which itself funds the Hamas terrorist organization—a government directly involved in these negotiations and which has a vested interest in the outcome,” Fegelman said. “Moreover, Al Jazeera has been banned or restricted by numerous countries across the Middle East, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan and Israel, over allegations of political agitation, incitement and support for extremist movements.”
“That doesn’t automatically make every report false, of course,” he told JNS. “But it does mean its reporting should be subjected to an appropriate level of scrutiny and skepticism, and perhaps the White House might consider citing more reliable and credible sources of information going forward.”
Dumisani Washington, founder and CEO of the Institute for Black Solidarity with Israel, stated that the post amounted to the “White House sharing Muslim Brotherhood propaganda.”
“Just when you thought you’d seen it all: The White House tweets Al Jazeera as ‘the real story’ and an antidote to ‘biased media outlets,’” stated Matt Bradley, an NBC foreign correspondent in Tel Aviv.
On Monday, the Qatari prime minister posted a photo of himself leaning over a laptop, upon which U.S. Vice President JD Vance was typing, as U.S. presidential adviser Jared Kushner looked on.
“Qatar released a photo that appears to show it telling the vice president what to say,” wrote Eylon Levy, a former spokesman for the State of Israel.
In late March, Marco Rubio, U.S. secretary of state, sat for an extensive interview with Al Jazeera.
