Al Jazeera pushed back Wednesday against Republican efforts to force the Qatar-based media outlet to register as a foreign agent.
Six GOP senators and two GOP representatives sent a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday asking the Department of Justice to review whether the network should register as a foreign agent, alleging “Al Jazeera is a messaging tool for the Qatari government” and asking the DOJ to take action in enforcing the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Al Jazeera Media Network responded in a statement to the Washington Examiner, claiming that Al Jazeera “is not owned by Qatar” and that “its reporting is not directed or controlled by the Qatari government nor does it reflect any government viewpoint.”
“Therefore, FARA registration is not required,” Al Jazeera said.
The state-funded media company based in Doha, Qatar, reaches hundreds of millions of people around the world through its websites, Arab-language stations, satellite channel, and growing digital efforts. Although Al Jazeera America recently shut down, the network’s most ambitious recent endeavor, Al Jazeera Plus, features online articles on Medium and sleek viral videos on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. AJ+ is based in the United States with headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Al Jazeera, with its funding from the oil-rich Gulf nation, has long faced questions if it should register as an agent of a foreign power under federal law, which requires anyone who is working on behalf of a foreign government — whether a lobbyist, a business, a K Street firm, or a media outlet — to disclose this relationship by registering with the DOJ.
Lawmakers said today that there are reports of “activities in which Al Jazeera Media Network is engaged that raise legitimate questions about whether it should register as a foreign agent.” The lawmakers also pointed out that Al Jazeera “is a state-owned enterprise” and that “the Qatari government has provided the majority of its funding.”
Al Jazeera told the Washington Examiner that the outlet operates with editorial independence while receiving public funding, similar to global media organizations such as the British Broadcasting Company, among others.
“Given that members of the ruling family are in charge of managing the media network, it is more likely than not that the government can and will assert editorial control over media content,” the lawmakers surmised today. “The network frequently features content promoting the apparent policy priorities of its owner.”
The letter pointed to a number of examples of what they saw as Qatari influence over the media outlet, including Al Jazeera’s reported support for and favorable coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group backed by the government of Qatar. They also pointed out that Qatar allows Hamas members to operate in the country while Al Jazeera hosts Hamas leaders on their shows. The lawmakers also claimed that videos on on AJ+ “appear to support anti-Israeli and anti-American positions.”
In their Wednesday letter, the six senators (Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas) and the two congressmen (Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., and Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.) asserted that evidence suggests that Al Jazeera “has engaged in inherently political activities and sought to influence public opinion in the United States” on behalf of Qatar and thus should comply with FARA.
Originally passed during the World War II era to combat Nazi propaganda efforts, the rarely prosecuted FARA law gained new attention recently after Mueller secured foreign agent convictions against Trump associates like Paul Manafort and Rick Gates during his investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 campaign.
Russia-backed outlets such as Russia Today, Sputnik, and RM Broadcasting were forced to register under FARA in recent years. And the U.S. has also stepped up the pressure on Chinese state media operating in the U.S. — the China Global Television Network registered in 2019, although Xinhua News Agency has reportedly thus far declined to do so.
The DOJ has vowed to step up its FARA enforcement, with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Hickey of the National Security Division stressing that “the statute is really smart and really good” in combating “this problem of malign foreign influence.”
Lawmakers also said Al Jazeera “has engaged in inherently political activities and sought to influence public opinion in the United States” on behalf of Qatar and works as an “alter ego of the Qatari government.”
Al Jazeera told the Washington Examiner that the content for its AJ+ English operation is created by a young, diverse staff, none of whom are Qataris, and that AJ+ employees report to U.S.-based managers. The network also said that its content sometimes runs counter to societal norms and policies of Qatar, and is critical of Qatar and, which shows it is “is independent and audience-driven.”
Republicans pointed to former Al Jazeera English Egypt bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy, who has said Al Jazeera English “coordinated and took directives from Qatar’s government” and the more it did so, the more it becomes a mouthpiece for Qatari intelligence.”
Al Jazeera has not been without recent controversy. In May, it removed a Holocaust denial conspiracy video from its AJ+ platforms, saying that it “completely disowns the offensive content in question.”
