These Middle Eastern News Sites Are Actually U.S. Government Propaganda Operations
Quick Insights
The Bottom Line
US government secretly funds Middle Eastern news sites to promote White House foreign policy.
How This Affects You
You may unknowingly consume US government propaganda disguised as independent news when accessing Middle Eastern news online.
AI Summary
The Intercept has found that Middle Eastern news sites Al-Fassel and Pishtaz News are propaganda operations funded by the United States government, masquerading as independent outlets. These sites, which publish in Arabic, Farsi, and English, consistently promote the White House's foreign policy positions, including praising the Trump administration’s Gaza policy and demeaning the Iranian state. Their government affiliation is only disclosed in a hard-to-find "About" link, and not on social media platforms like Instagram. This network shares connections with a portfolio of fake newsrooms originating from a military psychological operations campaign, which were previously identified in a 2022 report by the Stanford Internet Observatory and Graphika. The sites' design elements and reliance on CENTCOM press releases further link them to this established network of U.S. government influence operations.
What's Being Done
The Intercept identified the sites, and a 2022 report by Stanford Internet Observatory and Graphika previously identified a related network of fake newsrooms.
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