Al Jazeera
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Motto | Setting the news agenda. Every story, every side. The whole picture. Hear the human story |
Formation | 12 November 1996 |
Headquarters | Doha, Qatar |
Type | broadcaster |
Al Jazeera is a Doha-based media organisation that was launched in 1996 and has become the most watched satellite television station in the Middle East. Owned by Qatar, the formerly independent channel was assimilated into the commercially-controlled media, with concomitant mass resignation of those who refused to be part of the machine.
Contents
Editorial freedom
In December 2010 US embassy cables, released by Wikileaks, contradicted Al Jazeera's claim to be editorially independent, despite being heavily subsidised by the Gulf state.
A spokesman for Al Jazeera said:
Banned in Israel
On 5 May 2024, Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel. Earlier the Knesset passed a law allowing the temporary closure of foreign broadcasters considered a threat to national security.[2]
Al Jazeera called claims it was a threat to Israeli national security a "dangerous and ridiculous lie".[3]
Reaction
Please watch and share OCTOBER 7 |
Reacting to the ban, Andrew Feinstein posted on X:
- "In light of Israel’s decision to ban Al Jazeera I am sharing AJ’s film OCTOBER 7 as a gesture of solidarity, and to encourage others to do so. Please watch and share.[4]
Hamas’s incursion into Israel on 7 October 2023 transformed the politics of the Middle East. Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has carried out a forensic analysis of the events of that day – examining seven hours of footage from CCTV, dashcams, personal phones and headcams of dead Hamas fighters, and drawing up a comprehensive list of those killed.
In OCTOBER 7, the I-Unit reveals widespread human rights abuses by Hamas fighters and others who followed them through the fence from Gaza into Israel.
But the investigation also found that many of the worst stories that came out in the days following the attack were false. This was especially true of atrocities that were used repeatedly by politicians in Israel and the West to justify the ferocity of the bombardment of the Gaza Strip, such as the mass killing of babies and allegations of widespread and systematic rape.
In particular the I-Unit reveals that claims by the Israel Defence Force that it found 8 burned babies at a house in Kibbutz Be’eri were entirely untrue. There were no babies in the house and the 12 civilians inside were killed by Israeli forces when they stormed the house.
This was one of a number of incidents where the police and army appear to have killed Israeli citizens.
OCTOBER 7 is a deep dive into the events that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people, the significance of which will reverberate for decades.[5]
Covid propaganda
AJ produced a number of early 2020 Covid propaganda videos, including "A Message to the World from Italians Under Coronavirus Lockdowns"[6]; an Emmy-winning animated version of Craig Spencer's disturbing & dramatic "day in the life" of a New York City ER doctor[7]; "Can COVID be Stopped?" featuring Dr. Leana Wen[8]; and others.
A Document by Al Jazeera
Title | Document type | Publication date | Subject(s) | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Document:UN Secretary-General invokes Article 99 on Gaza | Article | 6 December 2023 | UN António Guterres United Nations Secretary-General Gilad Erdan International Crisis Group 2023 Gaza−Israel conflict | "Facing a severe risk of collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, I urge the UN Security Council to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe and appeal for a humanitarian ceasefire to be declared." |
Documents sourced from Al Jazeera
References
- ↑ "WikiLeaks cables claim al-Jazeera changed coverage to suit Qatari foreign policy"
- ↑ "Netanyahu’s government votes to close Al Jazeera in Israel"
- ↑ "Al Jazeera office raided as Israel takes channel off air"
- ↑ "Please watch and share AJ's film 'October 7'"
- ↑ "October 7 | Al Jazeera Investigations"
- ↑ https://www.woodhouse76.com/p/a-message-to-the-world-from-italians#footnote-anchor-1-148085005
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdeHSkDCm58
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B71UsarU320