{"id":29837,"date":"2026-03-16T15:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/?p=29837"},"modified":"2026-03-16T16:10:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T14:10:05","slug":"al-jazeeras-english-language-coverage-attacks-the-u-s-trump-and-the-war-on-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/al-jazeeras-english-language-coverage-attacks-the-u-s-trump-and-the-war-on-iran\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Jazeera\u2019s English-Language Coverage Attacks the U.S., Trump, and the War on Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"direction: ltr;\">While Qatar publicly presents itself as cooperating with the United States, the English-language network Al Jazeera, which is affiliated with the Qatari regime, has broadcast strongly anti-war messages.<\/h3>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/JPPIs-Al-Jazeera-ResearchReport-English-Final.pdf\"><strong data-start=\"30\" data-end=\"72\" data-is-last-node=\"\">To download the PDF file, click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Since February 28, 2026, an intense war has been raging by the United States and Israel against Iran. In the opening days of the war, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was killed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Iran, for its part, launched attacks against the Gulf states and the American bases located in them, including Qatar. It should be noted that Qatar hosts the largest American base <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Al_Udeid_Air_Base\">in the Middle East<\/a>. In addition, Qatar intercepted Iranian aircraft that were intent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ynet.co.il\/news\/article\/rkyxodltwl\">on striking the base<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Nevertheless, the findings presented here point to a different picture in the media sphere. Al Jazeera, a major international media network <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Al_Jazeera_Media_Network\">funded by the Qatari government<\/a>, routinely engages in incitement against the United States and Israel. It often directly attacks President Trump, including by promoting claims that President Trump initiated the war to divert attention from the Epstein affair.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">In addition to Al Jazeera\u2019s coverage of the war, the network\u2019s social media arm, AJ+, was also examined. AJ+ disseminates short-form messages aimed at the international community. Its criticism of the war has been sweeping but has almost entirely ignored what is taking place in the Gulf states, as reflected in the playlist \u201cWar on Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"direction: ltr;\">Methodology<\/h3>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The analysis was based on two primary sources: articles and opinion columns on the Al Jazeera website, and content from the AJ+ channel.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Al Jazeera English-language articles were collected from the LexisNexis database between January 28 and March 8. After publications containing overlapping content were filtered out, 52 articles and opinion pieces dealing with the confrontation between the United States and Israel, on the one hand, and Iran, on the other, were selected using the ChatGPT API. For the purposes of the analysis, the items were divided into two periods: Before February 28 &#8211; articles referring to a possible confrontation with Iran or threats of war with Iran; and After February 28 \u2013 articles referring to the war itself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Content from AJ+\u2019s YouTube channel was also analyzed. To this end, transcripts were collected from the network\u2019s dedicated playlist covering the war with Iran:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"War on Iran\" width=\"604\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PLZd3QRtSy5LOjMzL_R5FT928QNn4J6Cwe\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">It should be noted that the dates used to divide the two periods were included as part of the prompt (instructions to ChatGPT) to distinguish between the period preceding the outbreak of the war and the period that followed it.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"direction: ltr;\"><strong>Analyses<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><strong>Analysis of Al Jazeera coverage:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">Before February 28 \u2013 coverage of a possible confrontation or of threats by the United States and Israel to go to war with Iran.<\/li>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">After February 28 \u2013 coverage of the war itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><strong>Analysis of AJ+ coverage:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">Assessment of attitudes toward the war.<\/li>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">Examination of whether the 21-video playlist contained any reference to Iran\u2019s attacks on the Gulf states (such references were found on Al Jazeera).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">Findings<\/h3>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><strong>Sentiment analysis of the articles examined on Al Jazeera<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The following chart shows the sentiment classification for the 18 identified articles that referred to a possible confrontation with Iran before the onset of the war.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-4.png\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-29844\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-29844\" src=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-4.png 700w, https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1-4-300x142.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The following chart shows the sentiment analysis for the 34 articles referring to the war with Iran after its onset.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/al-jazeeras-english-language-coverage-attacks-the-u-s-trump-and-the-war-on-iran\/2-121\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-29845\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29845\" src=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"699\" height=\"337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2-4.png 699w, https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2-4-300x145.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 699px) 100vw, 699px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">It is evident that both before and after the war began, Al Jazeera\u2019s opinion columns and articles expressed a highly negative attitude toward the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Moreover, several examples illustrate just how sharp this criticism was,including criticism directed at Trump himself.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Because the Al Jazeera website is blocked in Israel, access to the links is limited. Several prominent examples are presented below:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><strong>1. Article: \u201cEpstein and the Politics of Distraction\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The article opens with the quote: \u201cAfter the beginning of Trump\u2019s second term, the connections between capitalism, white supremacy, and imperial domination became increasingly clear.\u201d The text links Trump and the United States to white supremacy and capitalism. Although the article refers only indirectly to a possible confrontation with Iran, it explicitly advances the claim that war serves as a strategy for distracting attention from internal crises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">In addition, the article vehemently criticizes Maduro\u2019s abduction and U.S. support for Israel:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/2\/26\/epstein-and-the-politics-of-distraction\" class=\"autohyperlink\">www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/2\/26\/epstein-and-the-politics-of-distraction<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><strong>2. Opinion piece implying that the attack on Iran was intended to obscure the Epstein affair<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201c Analyst says interest in Epstein files plummeted after war on Iran launched\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The article argues that public interest in the Epstein files declined after the war with Iran began. Among other things, it quotes an analyst who argues that the move had domestic political motives in both the United States and Israel, and that the war may serve as a distraction from political and economic crises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Quotation from the article:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cThe attack and its timing are all about domestic politics\u2026 with very little strategic rationale behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201c Al Jazeera spoke to Shaiel Ben-Ephraim, an analyst with Atlas Global Strategies and a former Israeli diplomat, about the motives for the attack on Iran.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">He said the attack and its timing are all about domestic politics in both the US and Israel, with \u201cvery little strategic rationale behind it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cThe current approval numbers for Trump are the worst they\u2019ve ever been, some of the worst this early in a term I can remember. And there\u2019s signs that the economy is going to get worse, so he really needs a distraction from that in the form of a war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cAnd if you look at searches on Google for the Epstein files, they\u2019ve plummeted since this started. So, at least temporarily, it\u2019s succeeding. It\u2019s taking up Congress\u2019s time and it\u2019s taking up the media\u2019s time,\u201d he added.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/4\/analyst-says-interest-in-epstein-files-plummeted-after-war-on-iran-launched\" class=\"autohyperlink\">www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2026\/3\/4\/analyst-says-interest-in-epstein-files-plummeted-after-war-on-iran-launched<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Alongside the broad criticism of the war, a small number of articles were found that presented a position justifying the war against Iran, even if indirectly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Iran\u2019s legal case for striking the Gulf collapses under scrutiny:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/3\/7\/irans-legal-case-for-striking-the-gulf-collapses-under-scrutiny\" class=\"autohyperlink\">www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2026\/3\/7\/irans-legal-case-for-striking-the-gulf-collapses-under-scrutiny<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cThe Gulf states have spent years trying to broker peace between Iran and the West: Qatar brokered nuclear talks, Oman provided back-channel diplomacy, and Saudi Arabia maintained direct dialogue with Iran through 2024 and into 2025. Iran attacked them anyway. The idea that the Gulf states have a responsibility, a moral one, to protect Iran from the consequences of its actions because of good neighborliness is now grotesque in context.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">This article sharply criticizes Iran and rejects its arguments for justifying the attacks on the Gulf states. It implies that Iran\u2019s actions precipitated the escalation and that the Gulf states had long sought to prevent war.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">For example:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cThis is the collective punishment of sovereign nations that went to extraordinary lengths to avoid the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The analysis of AJ+, the network\u2019s social media arm, similarly points to a critical trend like the one found on Al Jazeera:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/al-jazeeras-english-language-coverage-attacks-the-u-s-trump-and-the-war-on-iran\/3-114\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-29846\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29846\" src=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"699\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-4.png 699w, https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3-4-300x144.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 699px) 100vw, 699px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Our analysis of AJ+ videos shows that all the video clips posted on the platform convey a highly negative attitude toward the war against Iran.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Several examples are presented below:<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cWhy did Cyprus join the war? The answer: colonialism\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why is Cyprus Being Drawn into the War on Iran? British Colonialism\" width=\"510\" height=\"906\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y0w5-54arbw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The video argues that Cyprus\u2019s entry into the war is linked to British colonialism. It also claims that the war with Iran is \u201cillegal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">\u201cA video criticizing Trump: \u2018Is this what a president of peace looks like? \u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Trump Promised Peace but Keeps Expanding Wars\" width=\"510\" height=\"906\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tfZT17_-jUU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">A video claiming that Israel has set itself the goal of \u201cbringing the region to its knees\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"U.S. and Israel Attack Iran\" width=\"510\" height=\"906\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uHa_saYVd8I?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">In addition, it contains a written segment (not part of the transcript) stating that the Omani foreign minister announced that Iran had agreed to stop uranium enrichment, and that despite this, Israel and the United States attacked.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">The following is the only video we found that could be classified as relatively neutral in sentiment:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Why the Strait of Hormuz Is So Important\" width=\"510\" height=\"906\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UNOkpxGWSrY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">This video is more informative and less directly critical of the war. It focuses on the importance of the Strait of Hormuz and the war\u2019s possible consequences. Even here, however, the overall sentiment is borderline negative. Notably, of the 21 videos in the playlist dedicated to the war, not a single video presents the attack on Iran in a positive light or raises the possibility that the circumstances justifying the attack existed. Mentions of attacks on the Gulf states appear only marginally and seem to have been introduced only after the fact.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"direction: ltr;\">Summary and Conclusions<\/h3>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">Although Qatar supports the United States, not least by hosting the largest American military base in the Middle East, in the media sphere \u2013 through Al Jazeera and AJ+ \u2013 it has promoted a highly critical narrative against the war.<\/p>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">This critical rhetoric includes, among other things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">Claims regarding American colonialism and imperialism.<\/li>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">Insinuations or direct claims that the war with Iran was intended to divert attention from the Epstein affair (in which Trump has been implicated).<\/li>\n<li style=\"direction: ltr;\">Claims that the war is illegal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"direction: ltr;\">In other words, while Qatar intercepts Iranian aircraft and hosts a major American base on its territory, in the media sphere it works to undermine, and even deny, the legitimacy of the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran.<\/p>\n\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While Qatar publicly presents itself as cooperating with the United States, the English-language network Al Jazeera, which is affiliated with the Qatari regime, has broadcast strongly anti-war messages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29833,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29837"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29854,"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29837\/revisions\/29854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jppi.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}