A new Jewish Onliner report exposes how Qatar Foundation International (QFI) has established an extensive funding network that reaches over one million students in all 50 U.S. states. The organization operates through Arabic language programs, teacher training initiatives, and curriculum development.

Unlike its parent organization, the Qatar Foundation, QFI is not required to register as a foreign agent under U.S. law. This exemption allows QFI to avoid disclosing the full details of its funding activities—neither to parents nor to government authorities—including the nature, scope, and amounts of money it distributes throughout American educational institutions.

Upon reaching out to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) with a request for comment, the chairman told Jewish Onliner that “foreign actors use seemingly benign cultural programs to target students and indoctrinate our children.” He emphasized that his committee has passed multiple bills designed to “prevent foreign interference in our K-12 schools and ensure parents are informed about who is funding their children’s education,” adding: “We’re sending a clear message: foreign influence has no place in our K-12 schools.”

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Corporate Restructuring Eliminated Transparency

QFI initially operated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt foundation requiring public disclosure of its funding patterns through standard IRS filings. During 2010-2011, QFI received $7,232,066 in contributions from its parent organization for distribution. QFI’s treasurer was listed as Khalid al Kuwari, a senior Qatari government official.

However, QFI dissolved its 501(c)(3) status in 2011-2012 and reorganized as a Delaware-registered LLC, ending all public disclosure requirements. While the parent Qatar Foundation has been registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) since 2006 — acknowledging its role as a Qatari government agent — QFI operates without FARA registration, claiming educational exemption.

A May 2020 legal memorandum published by The Lawfare Project concluded that QFI should be required to register as a foreign agent because it functions as an agent of the Qatari government, disbursing funds “for or in the interest of” Qatar while engaging in political activities that go beyond genuine educational purposes.

Sophisticated Funding Network Targets Disadvantaged Districts

QFI distributed $30.6 million to K-12 schools between 2009 and 2017, according to the Wall Street Journal. Jewish Onliner’s report identified at least an additional $1.50 million after 2017, with the true total likely considerably higher. Unlike universities, which must report foreign gifts exceeding $250,000 under federal law, K-12 schools face no such federal disclosure requirements.

The funding architecture reveals what appears to be the frequent and deliberate targeting of economically disadvantaged school districts with diverse student populations. In New York City alone, QFI funding more than doubled from $275,000 in 2021 to $513,000 in 2022. Houston Independent School District has received ongoing QFI funding since 2015, including $85,000 as recently as 2025. Minneapolis, Tucson, Portland, Los Angeles, New Haven, and Washington D.C. schools have all received substantial grants, many serving economically disadvantaged student populations.

Brown University Program Shut Down After Qatari Influence Exposed

In March 2025, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) released a report documenting Qatari influence on Brown University’s Choices Program, a K-12 curriculum used by over 8,000 schools reaching more than one million students. The report found QFI co-sponsored teacher workshops and funded curriculum awards worth up to $328,000, while the program gradually modified Middle East content between 2011 and 2022 without notifying schools.

The modifications included removing the Balfour Declaration, misrepresenting Israel’s capital as Tel Aviv instead of Jerusalem, downplaying the Abraham Accords, and downgrading Hamas and Hezbollah from “labeled terrorist organizations” to groups merely “considered” terrorists while recasting Muslims as “indigenous” and Jews as “colonialists.” The proprietary digital format prevented parents and school boards from reviewing these changes.

Approximately one month after the report’s release, Brown University shut down the Choices Program after 35 years, claiming the decision was “exclusively financial.”

Teacher Training as Core Influence Strategy

QFI describes Arabic teacher training as the “core” of its activity, offering Teacher Professional Development grants of up to $2,000 for K-12 educators to attend conferences and travel programs to Arabic-speaking countries. Starting in 2020, QFI expanded grants to teachers across all subject areas—not just Arabic instructors—offering up to $1,000 for classroom resources and cultural events.

QFI has sponsored the establishment of the Arabic Teachers Council with seven branches coordinating Arabic educators across the United States and funds the Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO), which provides travel programs to Morocco, Egypt, Oman, and Qatar. The organization provides teachers with reading lists presenting favorable portrayals of Qatar without addressing controversies regarding labor practices, women’s rights, or Qatar’s relationships with designated terrorist organizations.

Public Demands Transparency, But Current System Provides None

A 2021 HarrisX survey commissioned by the Lawfare Project revealed that 84 percent of American adults believe parents have the right to know if Qatar is funding their child’s education, 81 percent support stringent legislation requiring accountability for foreign funding, and 70 percent are concerned about foreign funding influencing classroom instruction. Yet the current regulatory framework provides no mechanism for parents to obtain this information about K-12 schools.

The Lawfare Project’s research concluded Qatar’s involvement through QFI is “substantial and significant,” with students learning about the Middle East “in a biased way that emphasizes only the positive aspects of Islam while omitting a balanced discussion of other religions or belief systems, most notably Judaism.”

Leading Organizations Call for Federal Action

Multiple prominent organizations—including ISGAP, Parents Defending Education, the National Association of Scholars, and the America First Policy Institute—have called for federal investigations into foreign influence in K-12 education, mandatory disclosure requirements, strengthened FARA enforcement, and full curriculum transparency. Their recommendations consistently emphasize transparency, parental notification, federal oversight, and enforcement of existing laws.

Qatar’s K-12 investment represents only a fraction of its broader American educational presence. Qatar is the largest foreign donor to U.S. universities, having invested more than $6.3 billion in American higher education since 1986, spending at least $405 million annually covering expenses for six U.S. universities operating branch campuses in Education City, Doha.

Jewish Onliner sought comment about its findings from House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI), who stated:

Jewish Onliner reached out to Houston Independent School District, New Haven Public Schools, LAUSD, Washington Latin Public Charter School, Minneapolis Public Schools, Bozeman School District, and Tucson Unified School District for comment. None of the school districts responded to requests for comment.

Read the full comprehensive report with detailed sourcing and additional findings at this link.

A data-driven analysis of 181,561 social media posts reveals a stark double standard in international human rights advocacy. While major NGOs, UN bodies, and media outlets published extensively about Israel following October 7, 2023, they remained virtually silent on Iran’s execution of an estimated 12,000-20,000 protesters. Of 20 prominent organizations examined, only three explicitly criticized Iranian conduct, and the UN’s top human rights body delayed substantive criticism for over a week—exposing a troubling gap between rhetoric about universal human rights and actual practice.

The Glaring Double Standard

Against the backdrop of ongoing protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran, questions have emerged regarding the extent and nature of international human rights advocacy related to Iran, particularly on social media. Since October 7, 2023—when Hamas carried out an attack in Israel that resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the abduction of roughly 250 individuals—public communications by major nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), United Nations (UN) bodies, and influential media outlets have frequently focused on Israel’s conduct in Gaza, including recurring use of the term “genocide” in public commentary.

At the same time, critics have alleged that these same actors have devoted comparatively less attention to the Iranian government’s response to domestic protests, in which 12,000 — 20,000 civilians have reportedly been executed by the government’s internal security apparatus. Reports and public claims have described a large-scale crackdown on protesters, including allegations of significant fatalities and widespread repression. In addition, observers have argued that some public messaging by international organizations and media has, at times, minimized or reframed the Iranian government’s actions rather than explicitly condemning them.

In light of these concerns, Jewish Onliner—working with an independent third party specializing in large-scale data processing—conducted a study to systematically analyze the public-facing content output of prominent organizations within the human rights sector. The purpose of the study was to assess how these entities addressed Iran in the period following October 7, 2023, and specifically whether and how they referenced the current protests.

Methodology of the Analysis

For its analysis, Jewish Onliner reviewed 181,561 posts, retweets, and quote tweets from the following official X (formerly Twitter) accounts published between October 7, 2023, and January 14, 2026: the American Friends Service Committee, ANSWER Coalition, CAIR, CODEPINK, Democratic Socialists of America, Drop Site News, Euro-Med HR, MPower Change, ICRC, Doctors Without Borders, National Lawyers Guild, Oikoumene, Oxfam, The People's Forum, Committee to Protect Journalists, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Save The Children, Center for Constitutional Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Zeteo.

X was selected as the primary platform for analysis because it is widely used for real-time political communication by institutions, journalists, and advocacy organizations, and because it provides high-volume, time-stamped public posts that are comparatively accessible for systematic collection and longitudinal comparison.

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Disturbing Selective Advocacy

The analysis reveals a striking disparity between the volume and framing of international organizations and activist groups' public messaging regarding Israel-Palestine versus Iran during the period from October 7, 2023, to January 14, 2026. The dataset examined 20 prominent organizations across the human rights, activist, journalistic, and multilateral sectors, encompassing a total of 181,561 posts across their official X accounts.

The data reveals a troubling pattern in international human rights advocacy: certain geopolitical conflicts receive disproportionate attention while others are systematically neglected. While coverage of Israel-Palestine is neither surprising nor inherently problematic, the near-total silence on Iranian regime repression exposes a significant gap in the purported universal commitment to human rights.

That only three of twenty organizations explicitly criticized Iranian conduct—and that the UN’s top human rights body delayed substantive criticism by over a week—demonstrates a stark inconsistency: many international organizations appear willing to aggressively condemn Israel while according the Iranian regime the benefit of silence or deflection.

Hi folks,

This is the editor of Jewish Onliner. Yes, we have people here too, not just AI. Before unveiling our top 10 pieces of 2025, I wanted to extend a personal message.

Thank you sincerely for the time you’ve spent engaging with our work this past year since launching the project. We’ve done our best to provide timely intelligence and analysis across a diverse array of fields. If our work has been even somewhat valuable to you, it’s been worth it.

As we head into the new year, we’re looking to drastically scale up our AI capabilities in new and innovative ways that will make a real impact for the Jewish community. But achieving this vision requires resources we don’t quite yet have.

So, we’re seeking partnerships with donors who can make substantial contributions to our mission. Given the small size of our team, we’re currently only able to focus outreach on major gift discussions.

If you’re interested in learning more about our plans and potentially partnering with us, please fill out this form and we’ll be in touch:

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Thank you for your continued support—it means the world to us. Now, without further ado, I’m honored to present Jewish Onliner’s top 10 articles of 2025:

1. Member of U.S.-Designated Terror Group Samidoun Employed at Yale Law School

Our investigation exposing Yale Law School scholar Helyeh Doutaghi’s ties to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Samidoun triggered immediate institutional action and sparked a national debate about academic vetting processes. Within 72 hours of publication, Yale placed Doutaghi on administrative leave and barred her from campus. She was ultimately terminated from her position.

The story broke through to mainstream media with major coverage in The New York Times, which reported extensively on the case while noting the role of our AI-powered work in uncovering the connections.

2. CAIR’s K-12 Radicalization Campaign

Our investigation into the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) infiltration of K-12 education systems in multiple states prompted high-level congressional action. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman Tim Walberg issued an exclusive statement to Jewish Onliner condemning CAIR’s activities in schools, while Sen. Tom Cotton sent a letter to the Department of Education calling for action.

The findings received coverage in the Washington Free Beacon and Fox News. In response to mounting scrutiny, CAIR Philadelphia removed the webpage for its workshop discussing “Jewish power in America” from its site.

3. Princeton’s Anti-Israel Course: Gender, Reproduction, and Genocide in Gaza

Our exposé of Princeton University’s planned course “Gender, Reproduction, and Genocide” taught by Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian — a professor who had been suspended from Hebrew University for incitement and was briefly arrested in Israel — generated considerable media coverage and intensified scrutiny of Princeton during a critical period of federal investigations. The story was picked up by major outlets including The Daily Signal, Washington Free Beacon, Fox News, and Jewish Journal.

4. UC San Diego’s “Sophicide” Course: Israel Accused of Knowledge Genocide

Our investigation into UC San Diego’s mandatory ethnic studies course teaching that Israel commits “sophicide” — defined as the systematic murder of Palestinian knowledge carriers — resulted in swift institutional action. Following our report, the course appears to have been canceled, Professor Shaista Patel’s faculty profile was scrubbed from both the Ethnic Studies Department website and her verified academia.edu page, and the controversial course syllabus was taken offline. The story received coverage in The College Fix, San Diego Jewish World, and Off the Press.

5. University of Toronto Event Canceled: PFLP Terrorist Blocked from Speaking

Our exposé into the University of Toronto’s planned event featuring Shadi Shurafa — a convicted terrorist and member of the U.S. and Canadian-designated terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) — led to the event’s cancellation. Shurafa had served over 10 years in Israeli prison for his PFLP military wing membership and planning a foiled bomb attack on a Jerusalem bus during the Second Intifada.

6. Foreign Influence on Wikipedia: 30,000+ Citations from State-Controlled, Terror-Tied Media

Our investigation revealing that foreign state-controlled media outlets — including some with documented terror ties — collectively receive over 30,000 Wikipedia citations on the English platform, prompted a direct response from Senator Ted Cruz, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, who provided an exclusive statement to Jewish Onliner.

7. Exposing Foreign Influence on U.S. Soil: Turkish Media and Chinese-Linked Hub

Our trilogy of reports into foreign propaganda networks operating on U.S. soil contributed to broader scrutiny and growing awareness of sophisticated influence operations. Our exposé of The People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, and 1804 Books — three radical organizations operating from the same Manhattan hub and allegedly funded by a CCP-linked billionaire — contributed to broader scrutiny that culminated in a congressional investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Two separate investigations by Jewish Onliner revealed that Turkish state broadcasters — specifically TRT World and Anadolu Agency — have become a key vehicle for pro-terror propaganda and employ individuals with documented ties to Hamas, Iran’s IRGC, and Turkish intelligence services.

8. Muslim Brotherhood Report: Comprehensive Documentation of Global Terror Network

Our 15-page report synthesizing publicly available evidence on the Muslim Brotherhood’s origins, global terror network, and threat to American national security arrived at a crucial moment. The report has been read by influential officials in the United States and contributed to discussions around the growing international consensus about the Muslim Brotherhood’s dangerous nature. Released in July 2025, the report preceded subsequent policy actions and designations targeting Brotherhood-affiliated entities by President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

9. New Jersey PACC Conference Investigation: PFLP Terrorist and Rep. Tlaib

Our investigation into the Palestinian American Community Center’s conference featuring PFLP terrorist Wisam Rafeedie and U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib prompted immediate attention. Following our report, Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) sent a formal letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi — which directly cited Jewish Onliner — calling for a Department of Justice investigation into whether PACC violated federal laws prohibiting material support to terrorist organizations. Following this scrutiny, the organization scrubbed speaker names and images from its conference page.

10. Table of Lies About the Hamas-Israel War: Debunking Viral Disinformation

This continuously-updating resource serves as a reference tool for combating the unprecedented wave of disinformation targeting Israel since October 2023. By systematically debunking viral false narratives with verifiable evidence, expert analysis, and credible sources, the Table of Lies serves as a critical counter to propaganda that spreads faster than fact-checkers can respond.

House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) has issued a stark condemnation of Basim Elkarra’s dual role as both CAIR Action Executive Director and a California school board trustee, stating that “someone with ties to this group should not be overseeing our local education systems.”

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Walberg’s exclusive statement comes in response to Jewish Onliner’s recent investigation, which revealed that Elkarra simultaneously leads the lobbying arm of the Council on American-Islamic Relations while serving on the Twin Rivers Unified School District Board of Trustees in Sacramento County, where he oversees approximately 25,000 students across 49 schools. Elkarra served as board president of Twin Rivers Unified during the 2024-2025 school year. His term continues through June 2028.

“Credible reports that CAIR is partnering with K-12 schools to push a radical curriculum are deeply troubling given CAIR’s ties to terrorism,” Walberg told Jewish Onliner. “Not only is CAIR indoctrinating our children, but it’s also fueling the antisemitic threats and harassment we’ve seen plague our schools. Needless to say, someone with ties to this group should not be overseeing our local education systems.”

The chairman’s remarks underscore growing congressional concern over CAIR’s educational influence. Walberg previously responded to a Jewish Onliner investigation that exposed CAIR’s coordinated campaign across six states to reshape K-12 curricula about the September 11th attacks and Islamic terrorism.

Both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have recently designated CAIR as a terrorist organization in their respective states.

CAIR Action and the Twin Rivers Unified School District did not respond to requests for comment on Jewish Onliner’s initial story.

A new analysis of Wikipedia’s citation patterns conducted by Jewish Onliner reveals a troubling disparity: foreign state-controlled media outlets with documented propaganda agendas hostile to Israel and the West, some of which have documented terror ties, collectively receive over 30,000 Wikipedia citations in the English version of Wikipedia alone.

Additionally, these outlets are deemed as reliable sources of info on the platform’s user-driven ranking system.

The analysis also found that there is an overwhelming disparity between how much alternative media is sourced. While alternative media on the political left fares relatively well with hundreds or even thousands of citations per outlet, right-wing alternative media are cited only in the double — even sometimes single — digits.

Wikipedia Reference Comparisons (September 2025)

The breakdown below is only for the English version of Wikipedia. Other languages (Arabic, Spanish, etc.) will have different metrics.

Foreign Outlets:

1. Al Jazeera (Qatar): With 20,217 citations and a “Generally Reliable” ranking on Wikipedia’s reliability list, Al Jazeera’s massive citation count becomes problematic when examining its documented biases. The Anti-Defamation League’s 2025 report found clear evidence of coordinated campaigns on Wikipedia that frequently cite Al Jazeera to introduce anti-Israel narratives. Even Wikipedia’s own guidelines acknowledge that “most editors seem to agree that Al Jazeera English and especially Al Jazeera Arabic are biased sources on the Arab–Israeli conflict.”

The network, funded and run by the Qatari government, has been banned by multiple Arab nations and Israel for what officials describe as serving as the “mouthpiece of Hamas.” Yet its content shapes Wikipedia articles on Middle Eastern affairs with extraordinary frequency.

Moreover, Al Jazeera is notorious for having employed various individuals in the Gaza Strip affiliated to Hamas and other U.S.-designated terrorist organizations.

2. Anadolu Agency (Turkey): With 5,018 citations and a Generally Unreliable / No Consensus ranking on Wikipedia’s reliability list, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency represents a problematic case of propaganda masquerading as journalism on Wikipedia. A Jewish Onliner investigation revealed that Turkey’s official state news outlet has evolved into a sophisticated propaganda apparatus. AA was found to employ personnel who maintain ties with designated terrorist organizations while systematically targeting American audiences with anti-Western narratives through social media platforms that reach over 1.3 million users.

Originally established in 1920, Anadolu Agency has been transformed under President Erdoğan into what Turkish Minute described as “the main instrument of propaganda in the hands of” his government.

3. Tehran Times (Iran): Although it has 2,326 citations, the Tehran Times does not appear on Wikipedia’s reliability ranking list. Founded in 1979, Tehran Times holds the moniker of the “voice of the Islamic Revolution.” Iran International reported that Wikipedia entries related to Iranian human rights abuses have been “systematically altered in line” with Iranian propaganda, with The Times of London documenting how these entries are being “changed to downgrade Iranian human rights atrocities.”

4. Xinhua News Agency (China): With 2,291 citations, Wikipedia ranks it as generally reliable for factual reporting, except on matters where China may use propaganda. However, Xinhua News Agency has been described as “the world’s biggest propaganda agency.” Reporters Without Borders noted that it “tailors its pro-Chinese government message to the nuances of each international audience.”

The U.S. Justice Department has determined that Xinhua “is subsidized and controlled by the Chinese government and Xinhua’s content reflects government policy and avoids issues that would embarrass the government.”

5. TRT World (Turkey): With 953 citations, Turkey’s state broadcaster TRT World reaches an audience of hundreds of millions, positioning itself as a credible news source in Western markets. Wikipedia’s consensus considers TRT World “reliable for statements regarding the official views of the Turkish government but not reliable for subjects with which the Turkish government could be construed to have a conflict of interest.”

However, a Jewish Onliner investigation revealed that the network has become a nexus for individuals with alleged ties to Hamas, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Turkish intelligence services. This includes News Director Fatih Er, who was named as a suspect in a probe investigating IRGC ties, and multiple correspondents with familial connections to Hamas leadership who celebrate terrorist attacks on social media.

TRT systematically platforms Hamas officials while framing the terrorist organization as a “resistance” group and produces anti-American content designed to stoke social divisions. Despite its mass household reach and nearly 10 million YouTube subscribers, most of TRT’s social media platforms fail to apply required “state-controlled media” labeling.

6. Mehr News (Iran): While it has 939 citations, Mehr News does not appear on Wikipedia’s reliability list. Mehr News Agency is a semi-official Iranian news agency sponsored by the government of Iran and owned by the Iranian government’s Islamic Development Organization (IIDO). Despite not appearing on Wikipedia’s reliability list, the outlet serves as what Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation describes as “a state resource, reflecting the government’s stance on international issues” and a key component of Iran’s propaganda apparatus.

7. Kuwait News Agency (Kuwait): While it has 832 citations, Kuwait News Agency does not appear on Wikipedia’s reliability list. KUNA faces significant credibility and independence issues as Kuwait’s state-run news agency. Operating under government control, the agency engages in systematic self-censorship to avoid criticism of the amir, religion, or government policies, according to the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Human Rights Report. As part of Kuwait’s broader media landscape— ranked 154th out of 180 countries by Reporters Without Borders — KUNA functions more as a government mouthpiece than an independent news source. The agency operates within a restrictive legal framework where journalists face prosecution for “spreading false news,” and even KUNA’s own workers union has faced investigation for defending employees against harassment, highlighting internal governance problems alongside its lack of editorial independence.

8. Islamic Republic News Agency (Iran): While it has 404 citations, IRNA does not appear on Wikipedia’s reliability list. Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation identifies IRNA as a key promoter of Iranian propaganda. According to their analysis, IRNA frequently publishes content defending Russia in the context of the war with Ukraine while dismissing accusations of Iranian weapons supplies as “baseless.”

9. WAFA (Palestinian Authority): While it has 271 citations, WAFA does not appear on Wikipedia’s reliability list. Even with a relatively small citation count among foreign outlets, WAFA represents another concerning case. The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs documented how “WAFA has persistently fostered a media system that encourages and legitimizes violence and incitement against Israel.” JNS reported that the agency “sets the stage for terror” through its messaging.

Alternative Left-Wing Outlets:

The disparity becomes even more pronounced when examining how left-wing alternative outlets fare compared to their conservative counterparts. The Nation (4,462 citations), Mother Jones (3,339 citations), and The Intercept (2,165 citations) both maintain “Generally Reliable” designations despite being acknowledged as biased sources.

Even outlets without consensus reliability fare better. Democracy Now! (2,287 citations) and Jacobin (792 citations), the latter explicitly described as a socialist publication, both receive more citations than most conservative outlets despite their openly ideological missions. This preferential treatment demonstrates a systematic double standard where progressive bias is tolerated or even encouraged, while conservative perspectives are marginalized regardless of their journalistic standards or factual accuracy.

Alternative Right-Wing Outlets:

In stark contrast with their left-wing counterparts, right-wing alterative outlets have been overwhelmingly marginalized on Wikipedia, including the largest outlets in the conservative ecosystem. For example, the Washington Free Beacon (32 citations), which the platform deems Generally Reliable; Daily Wire (24 citations), Generally Unreliable; Daily Signal (21 citations), not on the reliability List; Breitbart (11 citations), Deprecated and Blacklisted; Daily Caller (7 citations), Deprecated; and Newsmax (7 citations), Deprecated.

The Broader Wikipedia Problem

A 2024 investigation by The Free Press revealed how Wikipedia has been transformed into a vehicle for propaganda, with a small group of editors systematically rewriting historical narratives. The consequences of this bias extend beyond Wikipedia’s pages themselves.

As large language models increasingly use Wikipedia as training data, these biased citation patterns become embedded in AI systems that will shape future public discourse, making this not just an editorial concern but a fundamental threat to information integrity in democratic societies.

Since October 2023, an unprecedented wave of disinformation targeting Israel has flooded social media platforms, spreading faster than fact-checkers can respond and reaching millions of users worldwide before verification can occur.

This non-exhaustive, continuously-updating list examines the most viral and damaging false narratives that have circulated about Israel since the war began. By debunking each claim with verifiable evidence, expert analysis, and credible sources, we aim to restore clarity to a landscape deliberately obscured by those who profit from confusion and conflict.

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The lies documented here are not mere mistakes or misunderstandings, they are calculated attempts to manipulate public perception through emotional manipulation and selective presentation of facts. Understanding how these falsehoods spread and why they gained traction is essential for anyone seeking to navigate the current information environment and distinguish between legitimate criticism and deliberate deception.

Please contact Jewish Onliner via DM or email to suggest additional disinformation claims that should be added to this resource

A new Jewish Onliner investigation reveals that Turkey's official state news outlet, Anadolu Agency, has evolved into a sophisticated propaganda apparatus that maintains relationships with designated terrorist organizations while systematically targeting American audiences with anti-Western narratives through social media platforms that reach over 1.3 million followers.

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The investigation found that Anadolu Agency (AA), established in 1920 as Turkey's official news service, has been transformed under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan into a direct vector for radicalization that employs personnel with documented terror connections and promotes content favorable to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, while also promoting narratives that inaccurately portray the United States as a racist, oppressive country.

Ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood

AA maintains documented relationships with Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood leadership, as evidenced through exclusive interviews, direct communications, and formal partnerships with terrorist leaders and terror-linked organizations like the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds (LP4Q). The agency's coverage presents Hamas in favorable terms, referring to Hamas terrorists as "resistance fighters" and provides uncritical platforms for their statements and propaganda.

AA has conducted exclusive, fawning interviews with former Hamas leaders such as Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Meshal. The Muslim Brotherhood spokesman sent congratulatory messages on Telegram to AA leadership, describing it as a "distinguished media institution" and "voice that speaks the truth." The agency partnered with LP4Q, which purports to work on behalf of Palestinian rights but maintains extensive ties to terrorist networks, with LP4Q's president linked to U.S.-sanctioned groups supporting Hamas.

In 2020, Egyptian police conducted a raid on Anadolu Agency's Cairo office, resulting in the detention of four staff members. Egypt's Interior Ministry justified the operation as part of broader counter-terrorism efforts, stating that the action targeted the news agency due to its role in advancing "the plots of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood and the countries supporting it.”

State Control and Government Agenda Promotion

Anadolu Agency operates as a state-run news agency where President Erdoğan has exercised significant influence over key appointments and editorial direction. Media Bias/Fact Check rates AA as "an agency controlled by the right-wing ruling party" with "a very strong pro-government state bias."

In 2014, Erdoğan's former aide Şenol Kazancı was appointed as AA's Director General, serving in that position until 2021. After the adoption of Turkey's presidential system in 2018, Erdoğan placed Anadolu Agency under the direct control of the Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidency by presidential decree.

A Reuters investigation in 2022 revealed that during the 2019 Istanbul municipal elections, AA abruptly stopped releasing election results when the opposition candidate was leading, creating "confusion and paralysis" in newsrooms as managers awaited government direction on how to report the outcome.

Turkey's Constitutional Court later ruled in 2021 that placing AA under direct control of the Communications Directorate violated the agency's constitutional autonomy. However, Erdoğan's influence over AA's editorial narratives remains intact even after this ruling – owing to the authoritarian nature of his rule – and AA continues to be universally recognized as state-run.

AA Journalists Linked to Terror Organizations

Multiple AA staff members have documented connections to terrorist organizations, creating systematic compromises in editorial independence and professional integrity.

Omar El-Qattaa, an AA photojournalist, has extensive documented connections to Hamas. The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) documented El-Qattaa's extensive social media activity promoting antisemitic sentiment and praising Hamas operations. In 2012, El Qatta was photographed receiving an award from former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. El-Qatta has taken numerous photos in Gaza that have been featured in AA.

On November 30, 2013 he posted on X (then Twitter): "Awaken a war, light a fire and let it be a curse upon the Jews and their supporters." Additional posts praised former Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida, referring to him as "oh terror of the Jews" and expressing support for his operations. While these social media posts have since been deleted, their documentation reveals the depth of ideological alignment and active support for terrorist operations.

Ashraf al-Amra, another AA photojournalist, was present during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks, capturing real-time photos of the massacre. His photographs, credited to "Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images," documented Hamas breaching Israeli security infrastructure. Reuters selected Amra's October 7 photographs as "Pictures of the Month," confirming his presence during the attacks.

Amra has taken infamous photos of former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, including a 2018 photo from a Hamas rally in Khan Yunis showing Sinwar flaunting a handgun he allegedly took from Israeli soldiers. Other notable photos by Amra include Sinwar at a Hamas rally in Gaza City in 2021, holding up a young child holding a rifle.

In September 2023, Amra received a hospital visit from former Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas official Taher al-Nunu while being treated for injuries sustained during Gaza border riots. During this visit, Haniyeh expressed appreciation for Amra's role in exposing "crimes of the occupation," while Amra committed to continuing his "national role" despite his injuries. This high-profile visit represented the second
documented interaction between Haniyeh and Amra, with the first occurring in 2012. Amra has also been photographed posing with Salama Maarouf, head of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.

Promotion of Anti-American and Anti-Western Narratives

AA distributes content in English targeting American audiences which presents the United States in negative terms, emphasizing themes of systemic racism and oppression while amplifying divisive social issues. Articles blame the U.S. for "genocide, displacement, seclusion, removal and ongoing oppression and intergenerational trauma" of Native Americans, accuse the U.S. of genocide in multiple regions, and promote the narrative of “institutional racism” as a potential strategy of stoking social tensions rather than providing balanced international news coverage.

Influence on Americans and Lack of Transparency

AA maintains a presence at four U.S. locations and has a sizeable following on social media: 570k on Facebook, 226k on YouTube, 99.6k on Instagram, 236.8k on TikTok, and 245k on X.

Despite AA’s status as a state-controlled media outlet, it has not registered under FARA in the United States. Aside for YouTube, its accounts generally lack required "state-controlled media" labeling, making them less transparent than other state media.

Allegations of Staged Gaza Photographs

Concerns about Anadolu Agency's Gaza coverage gained international attention through a major investigation in August 2025 that raised serious questions about the agency's photojournalistic practices and editorial standards.

German newspaper Bild published a widely read investigation that accused AA photographer Anas Zayed Fteiha of staging Hamas propaganda. Fteiha's work, distributed through Anadolu and picked up by major international media outlets including CNN, BBC, and German publications, was characterized as serving Hamas propaganda goals by generating sympathy in the West and anger toward Israel.

The investigation quoted historian and photography expert Gerhard Paul, who told the Süddeutsche Zeitung: "In southern Gaza, Hamas exercises complete control over image production." Soon after the Bild investigation was published, several European news agencies cut ties with Fteiha.

Conclusion

The evidence presented reveals that Anadolu Agency has evolved far beyond its original mandate as Turkey's state news service into a sophisticated propaganda apparatus that poses significant concerns for Western democratic societies. Under state control, AA has cultivated relationships with designated terrorist organizations, employed personnel with terror connections, and weaponized journalism to advance Turkey's geopolitical and ideological objectives.

Perhaps most troubling is AA's deliberate targeting of American audiences through substantial social media platforms that lack proper state-media transparency labeling, creating a direct vector for Turkish government propaganda to influence U.S. public opinion while masquerading as legitimate journalism. Combined with AA's documented promotion of anti-American narratives and its staff's active participation in terrorist propaganda operations, these findings suggest a coordinated effort to undermine Western interests and democratic values that requires U.S. policymakers and social media platforms to recognize AA not as a conventional news organization but as an arm of Turkish state influence operations requiring appropriate regulatory oversight and transparency measures.

Read the full comprehensive report with detailed sourcing and additional findings at this link.

Turkey's state broadcaster, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), reaches 260 million households worldwide through its international arms—particularly TRT Arabi and TRT World—positioning itself as a credible news source in Western markets. But a new investigation by Jewish Onliner reveals that the network has become a nexus for individuals with documented ties to Hamas, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Turkish intelligence services.

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TRT has provided a platform to Hamas officials, including airing an exclusive interview with senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in November 2023, allowing him to outline Hamas's "resistance" agenda to a broader audience. The network also routinely features commentators sympathetic to Hamas. The Stockholm-based Nordic Monitor has documented how TRT repackages anti-Israel rhetoric as journalism, amplifying Hamas narratives while contextualizing the group's violence. TRT Arabi routinely posts content glorifying Hamas, such as an animated video depicting former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a heroic “martyr” in Gaza.

In a statement to Jewish Onliner, Nordic Monitor Executive Director Abdullah Bozkurt explained that TRT “has long abandoned its role as an independent public service outlet and now operates as a propaganda arm of President Erdoğan’s Islamist government.” “Rather than serving the public interest, it systematically spreads disinformation and conspiracy theories to manipulate public opinion, fuel anti-Western sentiment, and promote antisemitism,” he continued.

“Following the mass purge in 2016 after the staged coup attempt, TRT recruited Islamist figures with jihadist views, including those sympathetic to Iran’s clerical regime, further entrenching its role as a vehicle for ideological indoctrination,” Bozkurt concluded.

Key TRT Personnel With Concerning Ties

According to findings from Nordic Monitor, Fatih Er, TRT World's News Director, was allegedly named as a suspect in a Turkish probe investigating ties to the IRGC Quds Force. Wiretapped in 2013 for alleged links to Iran-backed networks, Er was also involved with IHH, an Islamist charity with alleged links to Turkish intelligence and Al-Qaeda. Though never formally charged, his appointment to lead TRT World's news operations has raised significant security concerns.

Nordic Monitor's investigative report also revealed that Enes Adli, the network's Washington Bureau Chief, signed U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) documents claiming TRT engaged in no political activity on behalf of Turkey—a claim disputed by watchdogs given the broadcaster's clear alignment with Ankara's viewpoints and sympathetic treatment of Hamas. According to the report, his filings may have misled U.S. regulators.

Rumeysa Kalın Karabulut, a TRT reporter and daughter of Turkey's intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, represents another connection between the broadcaster and intelligence networks. In a separate FARA filing dated January 26, 2025, Saltzman & Evinch — a law firm that provides lobbying services for the Turkish government and handles legal representation for its Washington embassy — reported earning $50,000 from the Turkish Embassy between July and December 2024. The firm has a standing $1.5 million contract with the embassy. Among its notable alumni is Karabulut, who previously worked at the firm as a law clerk and has been employed by TRT in Turkey since 2019.

TRT Staff With Apparent Hamas Ties

TRT's Gaza-based correspondents have been found to have familial ties with Hamas and have associated with or given public statements of support to the U.S.-designated terrorist organization:

Sami Barhoom, a TRT Arabi correspondent, has documented meetings with Hamas leadership. Barhoom's social media shows a photo from 2019 of him meeting with former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh.

After Haniyeh's elimination in Tehran in 2024, Barhoom reposted the photo praising him. More damning are Barhoom's direct familial ties to Hamas. Following Israel's November 2024 elimination of Ala'a and Baha'a Barhoum, sons of senior Hamas figure Fawzi Barhoum who were delivering salaries to Hamas personnel, Sami Barhoom mourned them as "martyrs" and "cousins" on social media. Sami Barhoom also posted a photo of himself next to Fawzi Barhoom, further solidifying their connection.

A previous Jewish Onliner investigation revealed that Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Ali Hamad identified Alaa as a "media cadre of Hamas" and Baha as a "Qassam martyr," indicating that he was likely a member of Hamas's military wing. Alaa was even cited as working in "Ismail Haniyeh's media office" and attended a meeting with the Popular Resistance Committees, Gaza's third-largest terror group.

Sami Shehadeh, a TRT Arabi cameraman, has posted photos of himself happily posing next to armed members of Hamas's military wing and has praised Haniyeh and Ahmed Jarrar, who led the terror cell responsible for murdering Rabbi Raziel Shevach in 2018. His social media includes an image of Palestinian protesters holding a swastika-adorned kite.

Hossam Salem, who works as a cameraman for TRT Arabi and has worked as a photojournalist for Al Jazeera and New York Times, has an extensive history of celebrating terror attacks on social media. The watdhcog group Honest Reporting found that he praised the 2011 Jerusalem bus bombing that killed British student Mary Jane Gardner, expressed joy over the 2014 Har Nof synagogue massacre, applauded 2015 terror attacks, and repeatedly eulogized suicide bombers responsible for the 2004 Ashdod port attack that killed ten workers. On October 7, 2023, Salem posted "O writer of history: The youth are taking a stroll around the country," seemingly in support of the Hamas massacre.

Editorial Alignment with Terrorist Narratives

Under government control since a 2018 presidential decree, TRT consistently frames Hamas as a "resistance" group rather than acknowledging its terrorist designation by the U.S., EU, and other Western nations. This editorial stance reflects Turkey's broader foreign policy alignment, with President Erdoğan refusing to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and even offering the group significant direct support.

Influence on American Audiences

TRT World – the network’s English-language arm – has invested heavily in reaching Western markets. By 2019, it was available to 260 million households worldwide, including U.S. cable systems. In the U.S., it is registered under FARA as foreign state media. Critics and analysts have described it as equivalent to Russia’s RT, China’s CGTN, or Qatar’s Al-Jazeera.

TRT World maintains an impressive presence on social media platforms, with nearly 10 million subscribers on YouTube, 5.7 million likes on Facebook, 3.2 million followers on Instagram, 2.1 million followers on TikTok, and 666 thousand followers on X (all as of August 2025). However, the only prominent social media platform to attach a “state-controlled media” label to TRT World for American users is YouTube. For example, while Facebook and Instagram (both owned by Meta) attach the label to the China Global Television Network’s (CGTN) pages, it has not attached it to TRT World’s.

The absence of such labels prevents people from understanding the source of the news they are consuming and the agenda it is aimed at promoting.

The network's employment of personnel who appear to have ties the IRGC, Turkish intelligence, and U.S.-designated terror groups — while maintaining this extensive Western reach and succeeding in injecting Ankara's narratives into policy and activist discourse — raises serious questions about broadcast licensing and national security oversight.

TRT World’s Anti-American Content

TRT World, which seeks to shape perceptions among Western audiences, particularly in the United States, often promotes narratives that can be described as anti-American, portraying the country as deeply racist and oppressive, or as inflammatory, stoking existing social divisions and contentious debates.

For example, in June 2024, TRT World posted that: “Oscar-nominated Lily Gladstone is pleased that Indigenous people are getting better representation on the silver screen but warns there is an ‘ongoing genocide’ of Native Americans that must be addressed.”

In addition, TRT World has created videos about “how systemic racism in the US impacts the health of Black patients.” Relatedly, TRT World has published which argued that “Addressing racism in the US begins with atoning for past sins. Repatriations for slavery and levelling the playing field between the races are the only ways racism can ever be ‘solved.’”

Read the full comprehensive report with detailed sourcing and additional findings at this link.

An exclusive Jewish Onliner investigation reveals how three radical organizations—The People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, and 1804 Books—operate from the same Manhattan hub at 320 West 37th Street, promoting pro-China and pro-terror campaigns with the aim of radicalizing Americans.

At the center of the network is The People’s Forum (TPF), a 501(c)(3) “movement incubator” that provides political education, cultural programming, and space for activist events, frequently aligning with other far-left and pro-terror groups such as the Palestinian Youth Movement and CODEPINK.

BreakThrough News (BTN), a nonprofit media outlet based at the same address, echoes TPF’s ideology in its reporting, often promoting anti-imperialist, anti-American, anti-Israel, and pro-China narratives. 1804 Books, a not-for-profit bookstore and press also operating at the same address, directly supports TPF’s mission by curating socialist and revolutionary literature, with proceeds funding TPF programs.

The organizations share much more than an address. Their leadership, funding—primarily from Shanghai-based American businessman Neville Roy Singham, who has ties to the Chinese Communist Party—and event programming all overlap. Key figures, including Claudia De la Cruz, Eugene Puryear, and Jodie Evans, play leadership roles across these groups.

Programming and content from these organizations consistently promotes sympathetic views of China, justification for Hamas’ terrorism, and anti-American, anti-Israel rhetoric. The network’s activities suggest intentional efforts to influence public discourse, mobilize anti-Western activism, and directly challenge American interests.

For a full and detailed account of these findings, read Jewish Onliner’s comprehensive report.

While Israel and Iran exchanged missile strikes during the 12-Day War, Iranian weapons manufacturers were busy at work—not in Tehran, but at a Venezuelan military airbase just 1,400 miles from Miami, producing the same drones Russia fires at Ukrainian cities and Iran launches at Israel.

The scene at Iran's Caracas embassy last month suddenly takes on far more sinister implications. More than 15 senior Venezuelan military commanders gathered with Iranian Ambassador Ali Chegini while their ally remained officially at war with Israel—not for diplomatic pleasantries, but to coordinate its longstanding operational alliance that has transformed Venezuela into Iran's primary staging ground for projecting power throughout the Western Hemisphere.

These facts, compiled and summarized through extensive investigation, accompany a comprehensive report that Jewish Onliner is releasing today, documenting the full scope of Iran-Venezuela cooperation and its direct threats to U.S. national security.

The Hidden War Machine

At El Libertador Air Base in Maracay, Venezuela, Iranian firms including Qods Aviation— an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) front company sanctioned by the U.S. government — have established what is effectively Iran's first military-industrial export node in the Western Hemisphere. Venezuelan military personnel now operate advanced Shahed-131 drone production lines under direct Iranian supervision, manufacturing the same weapons systems that have terrorized Ukrainian civilians and that Iran launched by the hundreds against Israeli cities.

This isn't symbolic cooperation—it's active weapons manufacturing on American soil's doorstep. The Strategic Operational Commander of the Venezuelan Army, General Hernández Lárez, who posed alongside Ambassador Chegini at the embassy gathering, directly oversees these Iranian-supervised military operations. Iran has invested billions in Venezuelan defense infrastructure, transforming what began as commercial agreements into a sophisticated weapons production and export hub targeting Latin America.

The timing of last month’s embassy meeting—occurring while Iran's missiles were still smoking in Israeli impact craters—reveals the operational nature of this alliance. After exhausting much of its missile arsenal in attacks against Israel, Iran appears to have turned to its closest hemispheric partner not just for diplomatic support, but for concrete military resupply and strategic coordination.

But the weapons manufacturing is just one component of a broader threat system that spans financial networks, infiltration operations, and logistics corridors designed to project Iranian power throughout the hemisphere.

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The Digital Financial Underground

What makes this partnership particularly dangerous is how Iran and Venezuela have pioneered sophisticated financial mechanisms to circumvent international sanctions. Venezuela launched the world's first national cryptocurrency, the Petro, specifically designed to evade U.S. financial restrictions and facilitate transactions with sanctioned regimes like Iran.

This crypto-financial critical infrastructure enables Iran to fund its Venezuelan operations, including weapons manufacturing and intelligence networks, through digital channels that bypass traditional banking systems. Maduro has increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies to mitigate the impact of U.S. sanctions, creating what amounts to a parallel financial system for sanctioned regimes.

Iran, which has announced a national imperative to mine Bitcoin and licensed numerous cryptocurrency operations, uses this digital infrastructure to facilitate payments for military equipment, operational expenses, and proxy networks throughout Latin America. This cryptocurrency nexus represents a dangerous potential for sanctions evasion that traditional financial monitoring systems struggle to detect.

The Infiltration Network

Venezuela serves as Iran's geographic and institutional gateway into Latin America, providing permissive state infrastructure for Tehran to project power with minimal risk of interdiction. This infrastructure has enabled systematic penetration of hemispheric security through sophisticated identity laundering operations funded through cryptocurrency channels.

Venezuelan officials have facilitated passport fraud schemes allowing Hezbollah-linked operatives to obtain legitimate Venezuelan documentation, enabling covert entry into North America under Venezuelan identities. These operations are increasingly funded through digital currencies that leave minimal traditional financial trails.

The architect of much of this penetration is Tareck El Aissami, a Venezuelan politician of Syrian-Lebanese descent whom the U.S. Treasury designated as a narcotics "kingpin." Widely recognized as Iran's closest ally in Caracas, El Aissami has managed petroleum exports through Iranian channels while operating passport fraud schemes involving the sale of Venezuelan documents to Hezbollah operatives and other extremist groups.

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Another key figure, Ghazi Nasr al-Din, exemplifies the sophisticated nature of this network. This Lebanese-Venezuelan diplomat leveraged his official position as a Venezuelan envoy in the Middle East to raise funds for Hezbollah and facilitate the movement of Iranian supporters into Venezuela. Designated by the U.S. for terrorism in 2015, Nasr al-Din remains an FBI-wanted individual who demonstrates how Iranian influence agents have secured Venezuelan official credentials to enable covert operations throughout the Americas.

The Underground Railroad

The operational alliance extends far beyond embassy meetings through sophisticated logistics networks that systematically evade international sanctions. Iran operates a Tehran-Caracas air corridor using Mahan Air, a sanctioned Iranian airline with direct IRGC ties, working in coordination with Venezuela's Conviasa airline.

In 2021, Mahan Air transferred jumbo jets directly to Venezuelan control, effectively embedding Iranian aviation assets within Venezuela's civilian fleet. Intelligence sources report these aircraft consistently use cargo facilities rather than passenger terminals, with unmanifested pallets being discreetly offloaded—operations characteristic of sensitive military or dual-use cargo transfers under civilian aviation cover.

This air corridor functions as a significant sanctions-evasion mechanism, enabling the covert transfer of advanced military components, financial instruments, and operatives between Tehran and Caracas while maintaining plausible civilian cover. Payment for these operations increasingly flows through cryptocurrency channels that evade traditional sanctions enforcement.

Terror Networks and Digital Financing

The Iran-Venezuela alliance has created concrete, immediate threats to U.S. security through both physical and financial means. Hezbollah operatives, operating under Venezuelan military and intelligence protection, have integrated into major narcotrafficking networks including the "Cartel of the Suns." These operations simultaneously fund Iran's global terror apparatus while contributing to drug crises devastating American communities.

The operational nature of Iran's Venezuelan presence became starkly apparent in 2021 when the FBI charged four Iranian intelligence operatives with plotting to abduct a U.S.-based Iranian dissident. Their plan involved forcibly transporting the target via maritime routes to Venezuela, demonstrating Iran's use of Venezuelan territory as a safe haven for hostile operations against U.S. persons.

An Urgent National Security Threat

The full scope of these threats — as detailed in Jewish Onliner's comprehensive report — reveals a coordinated, multi-domain alliance that represents a significant challenge to U.S. national security in the Western Hemisphere.

The question isn't whether Iran poses a threat in Latin America—it's whether the United States will recognize and respond to the clear and present danger that has already taken root in Venezuela before it metastasizes throughout the Western Hemisphere. The weapons factory in Maracay is just the beginning.

Jewish Onliner has released an in-depth new report that compiles and analyzes publicly available evidence documenting the Muslim Brotherhood's origins, global terror network, and escalating threat to American national security—findings that arrive as Senator Ted Cruz prepares to introduce revised legislation designating the movement as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, as reported by the Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo.

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The report, simply titled "The Muslim Brotherhood's Global Terror Network," synthesizes extensive open-source documentation showing that the Muslim Brotherhood has spawned numerous designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, which explicitly identifies as "one of the wings of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine." The largest terrorism financing prosecution in U.S. history—the Holy Land Foundation case—directly implicated Brotherhood networks in channeling $12.4 million to Hamas, demonstrating the organization's material support for terrorism on American soil.

Drawing from court records, government testimony, and publicly available intelligence assessments, the report documents that five countries have already designated the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Russia. The organization's radical ideology, developed by founder Hassan al-Banna and theologian Sayyid Qutb, explicitly promotes violent jihad and the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate through force.

The compilation details sophisticated Brotherhood operations within the United States through alleged front organizations including the Muslim Students Association, Islamic Society of North America, Council on American-Islamic Relations, and Muslim American Society. European security services report similar infiltration campaigns across the continent.

The report consolidates publicly available information showing that state sponsors Turkey and Qatar provide substantial financial and political support to the Brotherhood, with Qatar offering asylum to its leaders and funding Al Jazeera as a propaganda platform. The analysis demonstrates how Brotherhood doctrine has directly influenced leaders of major terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda founders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri.

As Senator Cruz's legislation is set to be introduced with bipartisan support, this report may serve as a resource for the public, coalescing evidence that supports the growing international consensus about the Muslim Brotherhood's dangerous nature.

Read the full report here.

In an era of breaking news chaos, hyper-polarized narratives, and historic lows in media trust, genuine investigative journalism often feels like an endangered species. Few embody the spirit of tireless, fact-driven investigations better than David Collier, who has spent years documenting antisemitism, extremism, and systematic media failures in places most others overlook.

Collier's March 2025 exposé on the BBC's documentary Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone revealed that the film's narrator, a 13-year-old boy, is the son of a senior Hamas official—a fact the BBC failed to disclose. Collier also found that other children featured in the documentary had familial ties to Hamas, and that the film's subtitles mistranslated or omitted terms like "Jews" and "jihad," replacing them with "Israelis" and "resistance," respectively. These revelations caused an uproar in the United Kingdom and globally, led to the documentary's removal from streaming platforms, and ignited widespread criticism of the broadcaster's editorial standards.

After his recent exposé on Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi—which revealed troubling facts about the alleged “peace advocate” that were ignored by legacy media outlets—Jewish Onliner reached out to Collier with a series of questions about his investigation, the state of journalism today, and the personal toll he has experienced by exposing uncomfortable yet necessary truths.

We are publishing the interview here, edited for length and clarity:

Jewish Onliner (JO): You’ve spent years documenting the quiet undercurrents of antisemitism, extremism, and media bias - often in spaces where others aren’t looking.
In an age of social media saturation, AI-generated content, and polarized newsrooms, why do you believe the role of the investigative journalist still matters?

David Collier: I believe the role of the investigative journalist still matters because we do things others simply cannot. AI-generated content doesn't come into play when it comes to understanding what’s happening on social media. The role of someone like me—who goes beyond the noise and digs beneath the narrative being presented—is more important than ever. Rather than being replaced, I believe there should actually be more investigative journalists out there doing this work.

JO: Your investigation into Mohsen Mahdawi paints a far more complicated picture than the one embraced by many in the media and political class.
Why do you think so many were quick to accept and promote the sanitized narrative? Is this just a symptom of pro-Palestinian bias, or is something deeper at play - perhaps ideological, psychological, or even generational?

David Collier: The issue with someone like Mohsen Mahdawi is complex. There are several reasons why people are so quick to accept and promote the sanitized narrative.

Firstly, there's the pro-Palestinian bias—obviously. Secondly, we live in a very lazy age. Most people have an attention span of about 280 characters, if that, or just one swipe of an image on Instagram. So actually countering the Palestinian narrative becomes a problem. They get to hold up an image of a dead baby—and that’s it. The message is loud and clear.

But for those of us on the other side, we have to provide context. We have to explain why that baby is dead. And that explanation takes far more than 280 characters.

Thirdly, there's reverse racism—the racism of low expectations. Palestinians are seen as having no agency. They can do no wrong. They’re the victims—every single time. But yeah, at the core of it, it’s mostly about antisemitism and anti-Israel bias.

Mahdawi can stand up and say whatever he likes. And the lies he’s pushed—nobody, not once, not ever, bothered to check them. Not a single mainstream media outlet said, “Hang on a minute, should we verify this story?”

And you know what? His basic claim—the one where he said he saw his best friend, a child, killed when he was 10—took about four minutes to disprove. Four minutes to prove it was a lie. And that’s a disgrace.

JO: You revealed that Mahdawi managed social media groups glorifying terrorism and had close family ties to known militants - facts that one would imagine can be identified by experienced journalists at mainstream outlets.
Why do you think none of the journalists or institutions who championed his case uncovered - or reported - this?

David Collier: I think journalists today are inherently lazy. And I think that laziness is a symptom of what's happening in wider society. At the end of the day, journalists are just human beings doing a job.

The fact that not one of them bothered to do the research tells me that no one is actually doing the job of a journalist anymore. What they’re doing instead is looking for shortcuts. They’ll scroll through social media, find someone’s tweet, write a quick article about it—or just copy someone else’s work.

Take this man, Mahdawi—he was arrested. The instinct of a real journalist should have been: “I need to know the truth. Why was he arrested? Is there something in his past that explains this?” But not a single journalist asked that question.

It’s an absolute disgrace. Why didn’t they do it?
A. Laziness.
B. Anti-Israel bias.
C. Antisemitism.

JO: Much like in the Mahdawi case, your exposé of the BBC’s “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” revealed glaring editorial failures - from mistranslations to misleading omissions.
Why do you think this particular exposé resonated so widely with the public, even more than some of your previous investigations?

David Collier: We've obviously had exposés against the BBC before. I was looking at the BBC precisely for that reason. In this particular case, there were several factors. The catastrophic failure of the BBC here was over and above everything we'd found before.

We'd previously found them quoting someone they shouldn't have, relying on a journalist they shouldn't have used, pushing fake news, writing badly worded headlines, publishing biased articles—all of those kinds of things. And all of that depends on an editor, or a journalist, or a mistake that was made somewhere.

There is an information supply chain that comes out of Gaza—and everything that comes out of Gaza comes from Hamas. If Hamas wants it out, it gets out. If Hamas doesn't want it out, it doesn't get out. The catastrophic failure here was that, at every point along that supply chain, nobody did their job—all the way up to the top executives at the BBC. Every single part of the chain failed. That’s why it was inexcusable. That’s why they had no choice but to take it down. They couldn’t just give some kind of apology and be done with it.

And the other issue, of course, is that we’re dealing with publicly funded money that was handed to the family of a Hamas terrorist. That creates a legal issue. It was a combination of those factors—and the fact that we caught them in an error so catastrophic that their usual excuses just wouldn’t work—that left them with no choice. Taking down the documentary was an exceptional move for them, and that’s another reason it got so much attention.

JO: The BBC eventually pulled the documentary and issued an apology.
In your view, was this a genuine moment of institutional accountability - or more of a reputational containment move? Has anything changed at the structural level?

David Collier: We still have to see how this plays out. The BBC was forced to take the documentary down fairly quickly, though they waffled through the first two or three days. But the moment I saw what I’d found, I knew—they were going to have to pull it. They had no choice.

The fundamental question was this: if the BBC didn’t know that the narrator was the son of a Hamas minister, what else didn’t they know? There was no way the documentary could stay up.

As for the apology—it’s too early to judge. They apologized because they claimed not to know who the narrator was. But we’re still waiting to see what follows.

So yes, the first move was reputational containment. Has anything changed at a structural level? Too early to tell. We’ll have to see how much responsibility the BBC actually takes.

My gut feeling? They’ll waffle. Maybe we’ll see a scapegoat or two. But whatever the BBC ends up saying—it won’t be enough. And no, I don’t think there will be any meaningful structural change.

What we need is exactly that—real structural reform. So now we wait for them to release their investigation findings. They’ll probably issue a half-hearted statement. Then, the real task begins: pushing the conversation forward and holding them accountable.

JO: One of the recurring patterns in your work is the persistence of journalistic malpractice - misreporting, omission, ideological filtering.
Yet the same errors seem to reappear, again and again. Does that ever dishearten you? Or has it only sharpened your sense of purpose?

David Collier: Journalistic malpractice is everywhere. I’ve completely lost faith in journalism as a whole. I genuinely believe there are very, very few real journalists left.

Most people today—especially in the age of social media—have become lazy. They’ve turned themselves into brands. They’ve become activists simply by opening online accounts. Now, they’re Twitter activists. And that activism shapes what they do. It becomes more about their personal ideology and public persona than about facts.

Disheartened? No. I’m fully aware of the fight we’re in. I know exactly how bad the situation is. There’s no moment of despair. In fact, I’m happier with myself than I’ve been in a long time—because I know I have purpose. I know I’m doing the right thing. It doesn’t matter how many people disagree with me, threaten me, or insult me. I get death threats daily. None of that matters.

I know I’m doing the right thing. Journalism, as it once was, is gone. But I feel I’m doing a job that still needs to be done.

JO: Much of your work involves uncovering facts that challenge widely accepted narratives - often at the risk of backlash or being labeled controversial.
How do you navigate the tension between telling uncomfortable truths and staying within the bounds of what’s socially or politically acceptable? And what kind of personal or professional cost comes with that?

David Collier: There’s an Overton window—we’re only allowed to say certain things. And I believe Europe is in serious trouble. If the UK doesn’t change course, we’re a generation—maybe a little more—away from seeing our own intifada in the streets.

These are hard messages to share, because they aren’t socially or politically acceptable. The moment I say them, I get branded as some kind of racist. But I say them anyway. I’m not hiding anything.

That said, when I write articles aimed at reaching the mainstream, there’s no point in constantly pushing boundaries just for the sake of it. The goal is to reach people. If I alienate my audience, I fail at that. So I avoid self-sabotage for strategic reasons, not because I’m afraid to speak plainly.

When I give talks, I speak directly. I tell people exactly what I think.

As for personal and professional cost—I have to watch my back. I’ve been assaulted twice. I get death threats every day. The abuse? I don’t care about it. It’s irrelevant to me.

But my children can’t identify themselves as my children. I can’t talk about them publicly. I’ve had to take steps to protect my immediate family. There are plenty of people who hate me. It is what it is.

I’m just doing a job that needs to be done. I won’t stop just because someone threatens me.

Look at my children: one joined the army as a lone soldier. The other went to university at 18. Israelis don’t have that luxury of choice. At 18, they send their kids to Gaza to face Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

So for me to sit in London and worry that maybe someone’s going to punch me? That’s entitled. It’s irrelevant.

JO: Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest threats - and the greatest opportunities - for truth-telling in journalism?
And how can readers better equip themselves to spot bias, distortion, or manipulation in the content they consume?

David Collier: I don’t actually see many opportunities for truth-telling in journalism right now. I think we’re in danger. The threats are growing—because journalism is getting worse. One of the fundamental problems is that journalism today has become a reflection of society as a whole.

As the Islamist community grows in London and across the UK, so does its presence within media institutions. If the BBC, ITV, or Sky News have spent the past two decades hiring people from outlets like Al Jazeera—well, how many do you need before your newsroom starts to resemble Al Jazeera?

Mainstream media is in serious trouble. I wouldn’t trust any of it. I’ve seen how it’s made. I’ve dismantled their arguments. It’s not worth reading or watching.

So, how can readers better equip themselves to spot bias, distortion, or manipulation? First off—if it’s in the mainstream, it’s probably not true.

Where to start? Ask a basic question: how does the journalist report on the United Nations? The UN is the sum of its parts—Russia, China, Libya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cuba, Congo, and so on.

If a journalist quotes the UN, Amnesty International, or the UN Human Rights Council as if they are credible, respected institutions—that journalist should not have a job.

That’s how I judge it. It’s not about the fine details—because once you’re arguing about those, you’ve already lost.

It comes down to this: does the journalist have integrity or not? If they’re quoting the UN as if its numbers or statements carry unquestionable weight, that tells you everything you need to know. That’s what I think really matters.

Earlier today (March 12, 2025), The New York Times published an article discussing the recent suspension of Yale Law School scholar Helyeh Doutaghi, a case that has drawn significant public attention.

The piece makes multiple references to the original investigative reporting of Jewish Onliner (JO), which first highlighted Doutaghi’s ties to Samidoun (as confirmed by Samidoun itself), a group designated by the U.S. government, Canada, Israel, and Germany as a terrorist organization.

The Times article notes that Yale took action just days after JO’s report was published, placing Doutaghi on administrative leave.

In its coverage, The New York Times noted that JO is a platform that “enhances research, fact-checking and rapid content creation” through the use of AI, while ensuring that final edits are made by human editors.

Additionally, the Times explained that “three days after the Jewish Onliner published its article, Dr. Doutaghi was barred from campus and placed on administrative leave” by Mr. Joseph M. Crosby, Yale’s senior associate dean, who told her the move was necessary because “we have not received any responses or factual explanations from you.”

As JO initially pointed out, the case of Helyeh Doutaghi raises significant concerns about the ethical standards maintained by academic institutions. It also underscores the need for careful scrutiny of the potential risks associated with academics who have ties to extremist elements in higher education.

As the story continues to unfold, JO remains committed to providing well-researched and verifiable information on important topics.

Read JO’s original investigation into Helyeh Doutaghi here.

A new investigation by Jewish Onliner—available at this link—has found that Visualizing Palestine (VP), an organization known for producing striking visual content critical of Israel, may not be the American nonprofit it purports to be. Rather, despite holding tax-deductible 501(c)(3) status under the fiscal sponsorship of Empowerment Works, evidence suggests that VP may actually operate as a Lebanese organization aiming to influence American public opinion through disinformation.

This revelation calls into question VP's transparency, agenda, and its broader influence in the United States, which is particularly pertinent given VP’s explicit efforts to infiltrate the American education system and its stated goal of influencing Western publics. The findings also highlight the potential need for the organization to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Ties to Lebanon & Terror-Linked Entities

While VP operates under the guise of a North American nonprofit, the investigation uncovered that its parent organization, Visualizing Impact (VI), is based in Beirut, with additional offices in Amman and Ramallah, with VP serving as its North American branch. Documents and public statements offer extensive proof of their presence in Lebanon:

• VI’s job listings describe its team as “based in Beirut with additional bases in Amman, Toronto, and Dubai.”

• During a 2020 panel in Dubai, a VP cofounder shared images of their Beirut office, where they said their early projects were developed.

• VP has received financial support from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), a Beirut-based NGO, along with other grant-making organizations in the Middle East.

• Tax filings for donations made by the Soros family’s Open Society Foundations to VP—totaling over $200,000 between 2015 and 2018—list a Beirut address for the organization.

• A 2014 slide deck from VI included a Lebanese bank account as part of its financial operations.

The organization’s connections extend to groups with alleged links to terrorism. VP has collaborated with Al Haq, a group designated as a terror organization by Israel, and previously collaborated with Samidoun on anti-Israel events, which the U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently designated a terror organization in October 2024.

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Ryan Mauro, an investigative researcher for Capital Research Center and Newsmax TV Contributor, told Jewish Onliner that these findings reveal VP to be a “hostile foreign disinformation operation, likely in violation of Foreign Agent Registration Act regulations.” He further emphasized, “Let's be clear about what this is: A hostile, deliberately deceptive, foreign influence operation targeting Americans to benefit anti-American terrorist groups is a non-violent attack on the U.S.”

Closer to home, VP maintains a strong working relationship with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a U.S.-based group known for supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Recent reports have also linked JVP to Lebanon, suggesting that there may be a network of Lebanese-tied groups working in collaboration to amplify anti-Israel narratives in the U.S.

"If you look at Visualizing Impact/Visualizing Palestine's list of partners, you'll find over 20 pro-terrorism and terrorism-linked organizations. The group is a nexus for propaganda creation for the entangled web of anti-Semitic and anti-American seditionist organizations," Mauro said.

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Interestingly, VP appears to prefer avoiding the spotlight, instead serving as a resource for other anti-Israel groups. For example, a full-page New York Times ad from October 2023, consisting entirely of a VP graphic, does not reference the organization at all.

Mauro concurred, telling Jewish Onliner that “What's particularly striking about Visualizing Palestine is how little-known it is among the public, even Americans concerned about this issue, yet it has a massive online presence. This reflects how these extremists have created echo chambers where they can radicalize audiences and, as long as they stay away from public appearances, they can often escape under the radar.”

Perhaps most alarming is that VP’s activities are seemingly aimed at shaping American public opinion, particularly within the education system. In a 2013 talk, one of its cofounders spoke about using VP’s materials in classrooms.

The danger of such indoctrination is amplified due to the narratives VP seeks to promote. By the organization’s own admission, one of VP’s core narratives is that “Palestinian resistance”—a thinly veiled euphemism for violence—is a response to Israel’s so-called “colonial oppression.”

VP’s “resistance” narrative was evident on October 10, 2023, when the group posted on Instagram to its 200,000 followers that the Hamas-led massacre three days earlier represented a “resurgence in Palestinian armed resistance.” The post also indicated that anti-Israel activists could rely on VP’s resources to help “contextualize” the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and the taking of 250 hostages.

The Zinn Education Project, an organization that works to insert anti-Israel and other radical material into public schools, recommends using VP, writing that it “can help students ‘see’ Palestinian reality in new ways, but also prompt students’ own imaginative visual projects to story Palestine.”

More recently, VP published a book titled Visualizing Palestine: A Chronicle of Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation (2024), which explicitly states that VP’s work has been used by educators to “supplement curriculums at universities and high schools.”

The Need for Oversight and Accountability

VP’s extensive foreign ties prompt questions about whether the organization should be registered under the United States Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires entities acting on behalf of foreign principals to disclose their activities. Despite operating under a North American legal structure, VP’s financial backing from Middle Eastern sources, base in the Middle East, and its stated goal of influencing Western discourse suggest it may fall under FARA’s jurisdiction.

In a statement to Jewish Onliner, Mauro expressed support for potential investigations into VP from multiple agencies:

“I am calling on the Department of Education to investigate Visualizing Palestine's activities in our high schools, colleges and universities; calling on the FBI to investigate the group for FARA and counter-terrorism violations and the Treasury Department and IRS to investigate them for possible violations of their tax-exempt statuses and international financial transactions.”

—Ryan Mauro

With the newly inaugurated second Trump administration prioritizing the issue of foreign influence, VP’s activities highlight the broader challenge of apparent foreign entities leveraging American nonprofit status to shape policy and public opinion. Recent evidence of foreign interference in the K-12 education from the governments of China and Qatar has only amplified these concerns, underscoring the need for greater oversight.

VP’s case serves as a cautionary tale about the risks posed by foreign-linked organizations cloaking themselves as domestic nonprofits. Ensuring transparency and compliance with laws like FARA is crucial to protecting the integrity of U.S. discourse and policymaking.

Read the full Jewish Onliner investigation at this link.

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Apparent Qatari Election Interference Via AJ+

A new Jewish Onliner analysis reveals that Qatar-controlled media outlet AJ+, based in the United States, appears to have executed a targeted campaign to influence the 2024 US presidential election.

The network, which is a subsidiary of the Qatari government-controlled Al Jazeera Media Network, pushed divisive narratives aimed at progressive voters, including Democratic strongholds like Dearborn, Michigan, to steer them away from Democratic candidates Kamala Harris and Joe Biden. Instead, AJ+ gave significant airtime to third-party candidates and the “Uncommitted Movement”––thereby discouraging would-be democrat voters––raising critical questions about its compliance with US laws on interference in democratic processes.

The primary message promoted by AJ+ in this effort were conveyed through videos that frequently criticized Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden, portraying them as untrustworthy or complicit in the “genocide” of Palestinians in Gaza—an allegation that has been thoroughly-debunked.

This strategy of discouraging citizens from voting from either of the mainstream American political parties was utilized by Russia to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election, as noted by a 2020 analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice. Russian-backed election interference plots of an analogous style were also reported in 2018. The following analysis will demonstrate that Qatar, through AJ+, is apparently emulating this strategy.

The concerns over AJ+’s election interference are amplified by two additional factors:

1. In 2020, the Department of Justice mandated AJ+ to register as a foreign agent of Qatar under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Despite this mandate, AJ+ has yet to comply, putting the outlet in violation of US law.

2. According to a recently-published report by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and social media analytics firm Cyabra, there appears to have been a coordinated effort to boost AJ+’s reach on social media using fake accounts, specifically on X (formerly Twitter).

To protect the American public from foreign influence campaigns and preserve the integrity of the political process, the US government and the incoming Trump administration must prioritize investigating potential Qatari election interference and addressing this threat with urgency.

The following sections analyze Qatar and AJ+'s strategy in detail. They include examples of apparent election interference, highlight their focus on Democratic strongholds, examine their use of bots to amplify reach (a violation of social media platforms’ terms of service), and explore the legal implications of these actions.

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AJ+ Strategy Across Platforms

AJ+, a digital media platform under Qatar’s Al Jazeera Media Network, utilizes its significant following on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X to disseminate election-related content to over 15 million followers. These platforms enable AJ+ to reach younger, digitally savvy audiences with tailored messaging emphasizing dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party. A sample of AJ+ posts and videos across social media platforms can be found in Appendix A at the bottom of this page.

The Zachor Legal Institute performed a content analysis on the material AJ+ publishes. It found that AJ+ “appears to function in a manner resembling a propaganda outlet by promoting anti-American, anti-West, anti- Israel, divisive, and polarizing content designed to intensify divisions within the US.”

Zachor also writes that “Over the past decade, Al Jazeera has carried out a unique two-track approach: 1) using its legacy TV networks, Al Jazeera International and Al Jazeera English, to promote and/or whitewash the Muslim Brotherhood and an array of Islamic terrorist groups, such as Nusra Front (formerly known as al Qaeda of Syria), the Taliban, Hamas, and Hezbollah; and 2) using its online/social media subsidiary, AJ+, to aggressively court young, progressive Americans by criticizing both US foreign and domestic policies from the Left.”

Activity During the 2024 Presidential Election

During this election cycle, AJ+ appears to have adopted the narrative that the Democratic Party was not progressive enough and sought to push democratic constituencies to the fringes of the political left. Across all platforms, recurring themes of disillusionment with Democratic leadership and calls to vote against the Democratic Party establishment were amplified.

Some AJ+ videos included commentary from Trita Parsi, founder of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), a Washington-based, pro-Tehran advocacy and lobbying organization linked to the Iranian government.

On TikTok, the platform’s algorithm and youth-centric appeal allowed AJ+ to share short, emotionally impactful videos. For example, a video titled “Dozens of pro-Palestinian activists gathered at a rally” garnered over 221,000 views. One video, which discussed third-party presidential candidate Jill Stein, had over 850,000 views. The video contained quotes such as “Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan are ready to abandon the Democratic Party…. I'm a registered Democrat, but I am voting for Jill Stein.”

Instagram became a space for AJ+ to craft compelling narratives through concise messaging and engaging visuals. Posts like “It's Bisan from Gaza and Will the US Election Bring Relief or More Suffering?,” which aimed to demoralize potential voters and push them away from voting, amassed 165,000 views.

YouTube offered a venue for longer-form content, enabling AJ+ to explore themes of Democratic betrayal and systemic dissatisfaction in greater depth. Videos like “Why Chicago’s Little Palestine Isn’t Voting For Biden” (131,000 views) and “Is Kamala Harris Turning Her Back On The Arab Community?” (95,000 views) tapped into racial and cultural grievances in the Arab-American community.

Targeting Democratic Strongholds

Dearborn, Michigan—a city with a significant Arab-American population and a Democratic voting history—became a focal point of AJ+’s strategy, where its content specifically addressed the community’s grievances concerning Israel and Gaza. For example, on X, AJ+ posted at least eleven videos about Michigan voters’ dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party—eight of which were posted between October 17, 2024, and November 03, 2024, mere days before the election.

In the election’s aftermath, Dearborn saw a significant decline in votes for the Democrat nominee. Kamala Harris lost the city to Donald Trump by more than 2,500 votes, whereas Joe Biden beat Trump by more than 17,000 votes in 2020—a more than 20,000-vote swing that helped Trump reclaim the state of Michigan. These voters, many of whom traditionally supported Democrats, may well have been influenced by the anti-Democrat narratives pushed by AJ+.

Influencing US Elections with Social Media Bots?

AJ+’s activity on X is of particular concern in light of a December 2024 report by the Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) and social media analytics firm Cyabra, whose two-month investigation revealed coordinated inauthentic activity amplifying AJ+’s content. CAM and Cyabra found that 32% of profiles engaging with AJ+ on X were fake, boosting visibility and spreading anti-Israel propaganda aligned with AJ+ content.

In a press release accompanying the report, CAM CEO Sacha Roytman said that “The purpose of AJ+ has always been to divide publics, promote anti-western narratives, ferment division, and brutally attack the one Jewish state in a wholly antisemitic fashion. As part of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera Media Network, it is part of a terrorist supporting network masquerading as media. However, this report finally unmasks their strategy of deceit and their web of lies, artificially creating an echo chamber for their slander and lies.”

This raises the distinct possibility that not only was AJ+ working to subvert the democratic process, but that it was doing so using bots and fake accounts on social media, in violation of the platforms’ terms of service.

Legal and Ethical Questions Surrounding AJ+

AJ+’s apparent election interference adds to the significant scrutiny already surrounding AJ+ in the United States. As mentioned, Qatar has yet to abide by the DOJ’s mandate that it register under FARA, in direct contravention to American law.

Furthermore, for years, Al Jazeera, the parent organization of AJ+, has faced significant backlash for alleged ties to terrorist groups and for promoting terrorist propaganda.

The fact that AJ+ has avoided registering as a foreign agent despite repeated calls to do so by the US government is deeply concerning. When combined with Al Jazeera’s history of alleged terror ties, it paints a troubling picture of foreign interference in the American political process.

Conclusion

The allegations against AJ+ highlight the broader concerns of foreign influence in US elections. By emphasizing messages such as “Biden betrayed us” and “Killer Kamala,” AJ+ sowed discord among key Democratic voter blocs. While the network refrained from outright endorsing any particular candidate, its content discouraged voters and pushed them toward third-party options, a strategy previously see in Russian election interference plots.

AJ+ might attempt to dismiss these allegations by claiming they were merely "covering the news" or "reporting the story, not shaping it." However, such justifications collapse under closer examination. When a media outlet consistently and systematically amplifies one specific narrative, it moves beyond reporting to actively shaping public perception. By selectively curating and framing content to favor one perspective, AJ+ isn't just documenting events—it’s deliberately creating a narrative, effectively turning its editorial choices into the news itself.

As information technology continues to evolve, AJ+’s actions underscore the potential for state-backed media to shape electoral outcomes in foreign nations. Preventing similar Qatari interference in future elections must be prioritized by lawmakers and the executive branch.

Appendix A:

Many of these videos were posted by AJ+ multiple times in the leadup to the election (with one peaking at eight separate posts). The views for each video were tallied on December 2^nd, 2024. An “X” in place of a number signifies that the video could not be located on that platform.

Links to the videos in the table:

1. Kamala Harris Turning Her Back On The Arab American Vote

2. Chicago’s Little Palestine Isn’t Voting For Kamala

3. Will the US Election Bring Relief or More Suffering?

4. AJ+ and Trita Parsi

5. DNC silences Palestinian voices

6. Anti-Israel Activists Protest Outside Kamala Harris’ Hotel

7. Anti-Israel Protestors Oppose Kamala at the DNC

8. Support for Jill Stein and Kamala Harris is nearly equal amongst Arab American voters

9. Lebanese American Discusses Kamala Harris’ Support in Michigan

10. Muslim American voters at an Al Jazeera town hall in Chicago

11. Lebanese American Democrat Discusses the 2024 presidential election.

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