Pars Today – Over the past year, Al-Hadath’s reporting has led some commentators to accuse the network of being a mouthpiece for the Zionist regime and even of direct coordination with its military.
Media observers and analysts believe that certain Saudi networks, such as Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath, align closely with Israeli policies in some developments in West Asia.
According to Pars Today, the Mehr News Agency, in a special report on this matter and in an analysis of Al-Hadath’s behavior, wrote:
This network is one of Saudi Arabia’s soft power tools in the West Asia region. Alongside networks like Al-Arabiya, it is considered a specialized instrument for reproducing Saudi media and ideological hegemony in the Islamic world and against other countries such as Qatar. The network began broadcasting on January 12, 2012.
Al-Hadath is essentially a subsidiary channel of Al-Arabiya, focusing extensively on regional political news, including the Arab revolutions and support for the Syrian crisis, since its inception. Alongside Al-Arabiya, it has been one of the main competitors of Qatar’s Al Jazeera in covering regional developments since 2012.
Al-Hadath has been one of the most controversial Arab networks over the past decade, repeatedly broadcasting fake news and creating media scandals. Each country in the region has, in some way, been targeted by this network’s media provocations.
For example, during the early stages of the Saudi military invasion of Yemen, Al-Hadath, along with Al-Arabiya, claimed that Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Ansarullah movement, had been martyred. This news was disseminated to weaken the resistance.
The news ultimately led to ridicule of these two networks in other media outlets, to the extent that they stated: “Al-Houthi was martyred by Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath.” Al-Hadath’s media mischief also affected Iraq.
In November 2019, the Iraqi government suspended the activities of Al-Hadath and Al-Arabiya due to a lack of necessary licenses and blocked their news coverage. The Iraqi government, dealing with internal protests that year, revoked their licenses for three months due to violations of professional standards and incitement of protesters.
In a bizarre and false move, Al-Hadath recently claimed, citing alleged Western sources, that Iran intended to transport a special shipment via a Mahan Air flight from Tehran to Beirut. Influenced by this news, Lebanese security officials inspected the passengers and cargo of the flight.
According to the Lebanese Interior Minister, nothing suspicious was found in the luggage or the plane. This action by the security officials, however, faced protests from some Lebanese citizens.
The fake news from Al-Hadath, published while Hezbollah and the Zionist regime were in a ceasefire period, is an example of deliberate dissemination aimed at deceiving the audience. This news appears to be part of the network’s hostility towards Hezbollah and its connection with the Zionist regime.
In recent years, Al-Hadath has pursued a hostile news line against Hezbollah. For example, in Lebanon during the 2019-2020 protests, Al-Hadath attempted to portray the people’s livelihood protests as being against Hezbollah. Additionally, during the Zionist regime’s aggression against Lebanon in October 2024, Al-Hadath reported on Zionist attacks on the Batroun region, citing sources within Hezbollah.
However, Hezbollah responded to this news by stating: “There are no sources within Hezbollah or close to Hezbollah. These alleged sources cannot provide information to this network or its aligned networks, which are openly and hostilely participating in the Zionist propaganda machine against the resistance and the Lebanese people.”
Another example relates to the martyr Hashem Safieddine. On October 3, 2023, the Zionist regime attacked Beirut. A day later, Al-Hadath announced that Israel had confirmed the death of Hashem Safieddine. This was while Netanyahu, the prime minister of the Zionist regime, claimed on October 8 that Safieddine had been assassinated.
On the other hand, Al-Hadath’s reports over the past year have led some commentators to accuse the network of being a mouthpiece for the Zionist regime and even of direct coordination with its military. A reporter from this network attended a Zionist regime weapons exhibition in October 2024.
Haaretz, in a report titled “If you really want to know what’s happening in Israel, watch these two Saudi TV channels” on December 17, 2024, highlighted the close ties between the Zionist regime and Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath.
According to this report, when news from various war fronts continues, Zionist media frequently cite Saudi media. Thomas Friedman, an analyst for The New York Times, stated that during the war, Saudi media acted as an exclusive source of information for official Israeli sources to reveal the names of individuals targeted by fighter jets. Israeli sources even preferred these media outlets over Israeli ones.
Zionist journalists interviewed by Haaretz believe that there are contacts between sources within the regime and the television channels Al-Hadath and Al-Arabiya.
The Haaretz report further states that Roi Kais, an Arab reporter for Channel 11 Tel Aviv, said: “The Abraham Accords have greatly impacted access to Saudi media, and Tel Aviv is striving to convey its narrative to the Arab world, which is happening through Saudi and Emirati media. Saudi channels have sources on the ground, and I imagine there is media cooperation between them and Israeli sources.”
MG/ME
