 | |
Type of site | News and opinion |
|---|---|
| Available in | English, Arabic, Turkish, Spanish, Russian, German, Serbo-Croatian |
| Area served | theArab world |
| Editor | Leith Abou Fadel |
| URL | www |
| Advertising | Yes |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | August 2014; 11 years ago (2014-08) |
| Current status | inactive |
Al-Masdar News (sometimes abbreviatedAMN) (Arabic:المصدر نيوز) was anonline newspaper founded by Leith Abou Fadel.[1] Al-Masdar is Arabic for "the source."[2]Al-Masdar's coverage focuses largely on conflict zones in the Middle East: Syria, Yemen, and Iraq.Al-Masdar has been described as being favorable to PresidentBashar al-Assad during its coverage of theSyrian civil war. As of 2023, it appears to be inactive.[3]
Leith Abou Fadel launchedAl-Masdar News (AMN) in August 2014 as a media service that provides frontline news and analysis from the Middle East.[4] Before launching AMN, he was the editor of the websiteElectronic Resistance,[5] which is currently inactive.
The website was described by theBBC andNewsweek as having a pro-Syrian government viewpoint,[6][7] whileThe Independent describes it as "sympathetic to the Syrian regime."[8]The New York Times has described it as a "pro-government website."[9] Leonid Bertshidsky writing inBloomberg News, also callsAl-Masdar "somewhat pro-Assad."[10]The National Interest describes it as "pro-Assad."[11]The Jerusalem Post describes it as "generally supportive of the Syrian regime."[12] TheNew Statesman calls it a "regime-supporting outlet."[13] The Deputy Editor Chris Tomson has described himself on social media as a "hardcoreAssadist on the inside."[14]
In 2015,The New York Times accused Fadel of spreadingunfounded misinformation about a victim of thePetra László incident: after a right-wing Hungarian journalist assaulted a Syrian refugee, Fadel falsely reported that the refugee was “a former member ofJabhat Al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda)” adding “looks like Europe will be receiving more Islamist scumbags.” Although Fadel withdrew his allegation, it was picked up by a right-wing commentatorEzra Levant, among others.[9]
Following the April 2017Khan Shaykhun chemical attack in theIdlib Governorate,al-Masdar News published an opinion article by deputy editor Paul Antonopoulos entitled "Jumping to conclusions; something is not adding up in Idlib chemical weapons attack."[15][16]
A report by theAtlantic Council'sDigital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) published three days later described a "digital forensics" trail which showed how thisAl-Masdar opinion article was used as a source by conspiracy, pro-Russian and far-right websites, in particularInfoWars, which recycled Antonopoulos' article in a piece byMimi al Laham. It describedAl-Masdar News as "an unofficial government outlet" and said that it had "repeatedly attacked regime critics and witnesses to regime atrocities, notably theWhite Helmets."[17][18][19][20]Business Insider showed the conclusions in theAMN article differing markedly from those of other analysts, specifically Fred Hof (director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East), US defense officials, President Donald Trump and Dr. Monzer Khalil (rebel-held Idlib Province's health director).[21]Business Insider reporterNatasha Bertrand described Leith Abou Fadel, the editor ofAl-Masdar, as someone who had pushed a conspiracy theory in the past, and described him as an "Assad loyalist."[21]
After Antonopoulos was shown to be active on theneo-Nazi siteStormfront, he was forced to resign fromAl-Masdar on 28 April 2017.[22][23]Al-Masdar issued a statement on behalf of its board of directors,[24] saying they found his behaviour "wholly unacceptable" and strongly condemned it, while also apologizing to its readers and all those offended by his actions.[25]
A 2018 report by theAlliance for Securing Democracy, based on analysis of its "Hamilton 68" database of Russian disinformation Twitter accounts, showed thatAl-Masdar is a main source of Syria-related propaganda for Russian accounts aimed at US audiences.[26]