Qatar Media Attacks Trump, Criticizes Iran War
A new analysis by researchers at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) concludes that media outlets connected to Qatar have overwhelmingly portrayed the war with Iran in a negative light, frequently criticizing U.S. policy and the Trump administration despite Qatar’s close military cooperation with Washington.
The study focused on Qatar, a major strategic player in the Middle East that hosts the largest American military installation in the region, Al-Udeid Air Base. The United States relies on the base as a central hub for its operations against Iran.
Although the Qatari government publicly positions itself as a partner of the United States, the English-language broadcaster Al Jazeera — widely seen as aligned with the Qatari regime — has aired repeated anti-war messaging. Its digital platform AJ+, which attracts a global audience of millions, has similarly promoted content critical of the conflict while directly and indirectly targeting President Donald Trump and members of his administration.
Researchers reviewed dozens of English-language opinion pieces, news analyses, and videos published between January 28 and March 8, 2026, both before and after the war began. According to the findings, the content consistently delivered harsh criticism of the military campaign while largely ignoring the role played by Gulf states, including Qatar itself, in hosting and protecting American military installations.
Some of the material went further, suggesting that the conflict was being used to divert attention from domestic controversies in the United States, including the Jeffrey Epstein case. Other commentary characterized the war as illegitimate or unlawful, while several pieces connected the campaign to broader ideological themes such as “white supremacy and capitalism.”
To conduct the study, analysts examined Al Jazeera’s English-language articles and opinion columns using artificial intelligence tools designed to measure sentiment in media coverage. The researchers compared two separate periods — the weeks leading up to the war, when discussions centered on the possibility of conflict, and the weeks following the outbreak of hostilities.
During the period before the war began, roughly one month of publications were analyzed. The study found that 77.8 percent of the content was categorized as strongly negative toward the war, while another 5.6 percent was considered moderately negative. In total, 89 percent of the coverage reflected an unfavorable stance toward the conflict.
After the fighting started, the tone of the coverage became even more critical. The analysis found that 85.3 percent of the articles and commentaries were rated as very negative, with an additional 5.9 percent classified as negative. Altogether, 91.2 percent of the material published during the war expressed a negative view of the campaign, with most of it sharply critical.
The results were even more striking on AJ+, Al Jazeera’s digital platform aimed at younger audiences and social media users. According to the study, 95.2 percent of the content examined there was labeled “very negative” toward the war and included direct personal criticism of President Trump. Researchers also noted that none of the sampled videos portrayed the war positively or attempted to justify it, while only limited mention was made of Iranian attacks targeting Gulf countries.
Lt. Col. (res.) Or Hurwitz, a Senior Fellow at JPPI and a former senior officer in Israeli Military Intelligence, commented on the findings and the broader regional implications.
“Qatar has experienced firsthand the Iranian threat during the current war. Its longstanding strategy of attempting to ‘live alongside tigers’-pursuing reconciliation while maintaining strategic relationships with terrorist organizations and extremist actors-has not protected it. At the moment of truth, this approach failed to prevent Iran from harming Qatar itself and directly threatening its sovereignty. This development joins the Israeli strike in Doha several months ago, which also demonstrated the limits of Qatar’s attempt to ‘dance at two weddings.’”
Hurwitz suggested that the conflict may nevertheless open the door to potential changes in Qatar’s regional policies.
“Qatar is an actor driven primarily by survival in a complex regional environment rather than by ideology. The current war may therefore create a unique window of opportunity for a strategic shift in Qatari policy after the conflict. Such a shift could include a harder stance toward Iran and Sunni terrorist organizations, a reassessment of Al Jazeera’s editorial guidelines, and perhaps even gradual changes in Qatar’s posture toward Israel. The path forward is uncertain and complex, but the possibility for change now exists-particularly if it is supported by American engagement and strategic assistance.”
{Matzav.com}
