# Is Al-Jazeera reputable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 14, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411 "2008-07-14T06:57:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gitfiddle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/898d66/32.png) [@gitfiddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gitfiddle)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/1 "2008-07-14T06:57:26Z")
I know this might seem like a strange question, but I’ve seen some interesting reports from Al-Jazeera over the last couple of months. The very mention of the name “Al-Jazeera” would, however, make a lot of people cringe. Say you were debating a certain aspect of the war in Iraq and you brought up something you saw on Al-Jazeera, is there any proof that you can give as to Al-Jazeera’s credibility (or lack thereof). Do media watchdogs and/or research organizations include Al-Jazeera in their work? I’m just curious where it stands with regard to other international news networks. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/2 "2008-07-14T08:32:01Z")
I think they are as good as CNN/MSNBC but not as objective as BBC. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/3 "2008-07-14T09:17:47Z")
When I lived in the M. East, I used to watch it a lot. I thought it was as good as CNNI most of the time, but other times I thought it was about as biased as Fox News (but with a different slant, obviously). I think one of the biggest complaints about AJ is that it is selective in its targets, it will chastise Egypt for running shoddy elections, but won’t mention the lack of democracy in the Arab Emirates where it is based. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/4 "2008-07-14T09:56:29Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] …in the Arab Emirates where it is based. [/QUOTE] It’s based in Qatar. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/5 "2008-07-14T11:44:46Z")
You’re right, I thought Qatar was one of the UAE, but it’s not. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/6 "2008-07-14T13:42:55Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] You’re right, I thought Qatar was one of the UAE, but it’s not. [/QUOTE] Where did you live in the ME? Not the UAE or Qatar I hope! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/7 "2008-07-14T13:51:24Z")
Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/8 "2008-07-14T15:14:14Z")
[QUOTE=madmonk28] You’re right, I thought Qatar was one of the UAE, but it’s not. [/QUOTE] It is, however, an emirate :). ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/9 "2008-07-14T15:17:08Z")
When the U.S. first invaded Iraq and a lot of the reports coming out of the region were through Al-Jazeera, we had a number of threads dealing with the topic. The Bush administration, of course, tried to portray them as a sort of Middle Eastern equivalent to pre-1989 _Pravda_. However, the information that was posted (along with various stories run by Al-Jazeera that were dismissed but turned out to be true) indicated that it is a quite legitimate news outlet. (My memory is that it is run by a number of ex-Beebers who were trained at the BBC to report accurately and that they have attempted to maintain that integrity.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/10 "2008-07-14T15:18:13Z")
[QUOTE=Tamerlane] It is, however, an emirate :). [/QUOTE] It’s also Arab. Arab emirates of the world, unite! ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/11 "2008-07-14T15:30:23Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] When the U.S. first invaded Iraq and a lot of the reports coming out of the region were through Al-Jazeera, we had a number of threads dealing with the topic. The Bush administration, of course, tried to portray them as a sort of Middle Eastern equivalent to pre-1989 _Pravda_. However, the information that was posted (along with various stories run by Al-Jazeera that were dismissed but turned out to be true) indicated that it is a quite legitimate news outlet. (My memory is that it is run by a number of ex-Beebers who were trained at the BBC to report accurately and that they have attempted to maintain that integrity.) [/QUOTE] I beleive they are accurate on some things, but they are not unbiased. Do not expect _totally_ objective reporting on matters pertaining to Israel, for example. But for a news network in the Arab World, they are perhaps as unbiased as one could reasonably expect. Here’s an article on the subject: [http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story\_id=3497](http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3497) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/12 "2008-07-14T15:31:15Z")
[QUOTE=Malthus] I beleive they are accurate on some things, but they are not unbiased. Do not expect _totally_ objective reporting on matters pertaining to Israel, for example. [/QUOTE] Is there any news network in the world from which you could expect that?! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/13 "2008-07-14T15:35:18Z")
Among others: [Reportage of the Iraqi conflict in the USA](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=172708&highlight=%2Ajazeera) [Collounsbury assessment](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=3193611&highlight=%2Ajazeera#post3193611) [What does Al-Jazeera report?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=172986&highlight=%2Ajazeera) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/14 "2008-07-14T16:39:04Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] (My memory is that it is run by a number of ex-Beebers who were trained at the BBC to report accurately and that they have attempted to maintain that integrity.) [/QUOTE] Many staff of their English language channel have a background in the BBC and also in numerous other mainstream western outlets: [Al Jazeera English - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_English#Personalities_and_staff) ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/15 "2008-07-14T18:24:37Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Is there any news network in the world from which you could expect that?! [/QUOTE] Perhaps not, but for obvious reasons the topic is a major concern for _this_ network, and so it is worth mentioning. It is also worth noting that they have broken with longstanding Arab news tradition and will actually feature interviews with Israelis, long considered verboten. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/16 "2008-07-14T22:01:23Z")
Remember in 2004 when the al-Jazeera banner [was taken down](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19359-2004Jul27.html)at the Democratic national convention because it showed on camera and we must pander to the ignorant (those who think al-Jazeera is a terrorist organization)? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/17 "2008-07-14T22:04:18Z")
All I know is Peppermint Gomez is seriously hot. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/18 "2008-07-14T22:32:16Z")
Al-Jazeera reported on the doctored picture of the Iranian missile launch after it was discovered. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-al-jazeera-reputable/456411/19 "2008-07-15T12:18:19Z")
I watch it quite often and I think that its pretty good myself.