In response to The Washington Put up, Newsmax, a right-wing information channel, obtained a major funding of round $50 million from a royal from Qatar between 2019 and 2020. Paperwork reviewed by the newspaper and statements from representatives of Newsmax and the royal funding agency corroborate this data.
The funding was made by former Qatari authorities official Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani via Heritage Advisors, his funding fund primarily based in London. The funding happened throughout a interval when Qatar was going through a blockade led by neighboring Arab nations just like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia over accusations of supporting terrorism.
Newsmax was in search of traders to rival huge networks reminiscent of Fox Information on the time of the funding. Some Newsmax staff claimed they had been urged to melt their protection of Qatar after the funding, a declare that Newsmax denies.
A spokesperson for Newsmax said that their protection of Qatar has all the time been truthful, together with crucial stories. The Qatari royal later transferred his possession to a company entity primarily based within the Cayman Islands, which held a major minority stake in Newsmax.
Newsmax has confronted criticism for spreading misinformation, particularly associated to former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud within the 2020 election. This led to a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Programs in search of over a billion {dollars} in damages.
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