The United States has a cherished history of protecting and advancing freedom of the press. It is a right enshrined in the Bill of Rights that has long been a beacon of our republic that has served as a model widely emulated abroad. While continuing to defend this traditional bedrock principle of our nation, the United States government has a duty to ensure our laws are never broken by foreign actors in any way that undermines our best of intentions in delivering the transparency and accountability our Founding Fathers sought to forever promote.
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Now, thanks to the watchdog group Empower Oversight, we know that the DOJ did indeed follow up with Al Jazeera, albeit without alerting Congress. On Sept. 14, 2020, DOJ sent a letter to Al Jazeera informing them of their obligation to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), after concluding that the outlet was carrying out political activities on behalf of the Qatari government with the intention of influencing our policies in the U.S. However, despite DOJ’s findings, Al Jazeera has thumbed its nose at U.S. law, refusing to register under FARA.
It has long been known that Al Jazeera is owned, funded, and controlled by the government of Qatar. For years, the network has propagandized on behalf of Islamic terrorist groups such as Hamas and provided a platform for virulent antisemitism. At the same time, the network’s subsidiary, AJ+, has built a massive following on social media among young Americans by alleging U.S. racism, sexism, abuse of immigrants, and denial of LGBTQ rights, while relentlessly highlighting a supposed litany of historical injustices committed by the United States.
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Read the full article HERE.