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Al Jazeera: United States
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In order to counter a perceived bias of Al Jazeera, the U.S. government in 2004 founded Al Hurra (="the free one"), a competing Arabic-language satellite TV station variably seen as a public diplomacy tool or a propaganda outlet. Al Hurra is forbidden to broadcast to the US under the provisions of the Smith-Mundt Act. A Zogby poll found that 1% of Arab viewers watch Al Hurra as their first choice.[71]
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Al Jazeera writes that its Arabic Internet site is one of the 50 most visited web sites in the world. Its original service provider in the United States was raided by the FBI in September 2001 and subsequently convicted of several crimes, one of which was knowingly taking money from an investor who was a member of the terrorist organization Hamas.
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The original Al Jazeera channel's willingness to broadcast dissenting views, including on call-in shows, created controversies in Persian Gulf States. The station gained worldwide attention following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when it broadcast video statements by Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders (see Videos of Osama bin Laden).
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Al Jazeera offers their viewers a different and new perspective, it was the first of the Arab TV stations to break the unwritten rule that one does not criticize another Arab regime, the source of much of its earliest controversy. But regardless of what their rulers thought, viewers were delighted to get something other than the usual pro-government propaganda.
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Barely a decade old, Al Jazeera came into being as a joint venture between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Saudi government. Thomas said the aim was to create a non-state- controlled media operation. The venture bumped along until Al Jazeera aired an uncensored talk show critically examining executions, prompting the Saudi government "to literally pull the plug.'
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Al Ali says that while other Arab stations earn about 90 percent of their revenue from advertising, commercials account for only about 40 percent of Al Jazeera's revenues. The rest comes from renting out equipment, selling programming and videotapes, and cable subscription fees. The station now operates, he says, without government subsidies.
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