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Alhurra Video
This report on a Holocaust deniers conference hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was broadcast on Dec. 12, 2006 by the U.S. taxpayer-funded Arabic language network Alhurra. Although Alhurra is broadcast only in the Middle East, it operates out of Springfield, Virginia.
Alhurra assured Congress in a May 2007 hearing that the reporter, Ahmad Amin, was fired, but according to internal e-mails he was still on the U.S. payroll, working for Radio Sawa, Alhurra’s Middle East station, until June 12th, 2008.
All captions and speaker identifications are direct translations of the Alhurra report, which incorrectly identifies one attendee as former Louisiana state Representative (and KKK Imperial Wizard) David Duke, and erroneously describes Duke as a “former member of the American House of Representatives.”
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This story is a joint production with CBS and 60 Minutes. View the 60 Minutes segment on Alhurra that first aired on June 22, 2008.
Alhurra Bleeding Viewers, Poll Finds, But Spending is Up
by Dafna Linzer - May 29, 2009
Does Obama Snub of Alhurra Signal a Shift?
by Dafna Linzer - Jan. 27, 2009
Report Calls Alhurra a Failure
by Dafna Linzer - Dec. 11, 2008 6:56 pm
USC Study of Alhurra Withheld From Public; Inquiries of Network's Operation Deepen
by Dafna Linzer - Nov. 4, 2008 4:23 pm
Letter From Alhurra’s Parent Company—And Our Response
by Eric Umansky - July 22, 2008 11:59 am
Update: Paper Responds to Alhurra Payment Story
by Paul Kiel - July 21, 2008 3:03 pm
Alhurra's Baghdad Bureau Mired in Controversy
by Dafna Linzer - July 8, 2008 10:55 am
BBG Responds to ProPublica's Alhurra Investigation -- And We Have Some Questions for Them
June 30, 2008 2:00 pm
Alhurra Paid Former White House Aides, Washington Journalists
by Dafna Linzer and Paul Kiel - June 24, 2008 4:59 pm
Former Alhurra Employee Tries To Break Into White House
by Robert Lewis - June 23, 2008 2:45 pm
Rep Calls for Investigation of Alhurra
by Paul Kiel - June 23, 2008 11:45 am
Lost in Translation: Alhurra -- America's Troubled Effort to Win Middle East Hearts and Minds
by Dafna Linzer - June 22, 2008 7:00 pm
ProPublica and 60 Minutes Investigation to Air Sunday
by Paul Kiel - June 19, 2008 3:45 pm
Soon Dafna Linzer will be answering readers' questions about Al Hurra and what she found. We'll collect questions from the comments and via e-mail: feedback@propublica.org.
If you have new details or insider knowledge about Alhurra, please let us know.
- The Broadcasting Board of Governors issued a response to "60 Minutes" and ProPublica's joint investigation into Alhurra.
- David Corn of Mother Jones responded to Dafna Linzer and Paul Kiel's article "Alhurra Paid Former White House Aides, Washington Journalists".
- BBG Responds to ProPublica's Alhurra Investigation -- And We Have Some Questions for Them
- Letter From Alhurra's Parent Company -- And Our Response
Previous Alhurra Coverage Around the Web
- Blog Posts About Alhurra on "Abu Aardvark," by Marc Lynch
- "Bad Reception," Part 1 & Part 2, The American Prospect
- "The Failure of Public Diplomacy" by Marc Lynch The Guardian
- "Al-Nielsens", NPR "On the Media"
- "Register's Last Hurrah?" by Joel Mowbray, The Wall Street Journal
- "Boos for Al-Hurrah", The Wall Street Journal
- "Mad TV" by Joel Mowbray, The Wall Street Journal
- Cable from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo to the Secretary of State (PDF)
"Al Hurra's slow response to fast-tracking events...has hurt its ability to attract a wider audience."
April 2004 - Congressional Research Service Report (PDF)
The Middle East Television Network: An Overview
Aug. 17, 2005 - GAO Report (PDF)
Management of the Middle East Broadcasting Services Could Be Improved
August 2006 - Letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice (PDF)
Congressmen call for then-news director Larry Register to be replaced.
May 9, 2007 - Hearing before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia (PDF)
Includes testimony from BBG board member Joaquin Blaya and MBN president Brian Conniff
May 16, 2007 - Office of the Inspector General Report (PDF)
Report of Inspection: Alhurra's Programming Policies and Procedures
May 2008 - More...
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