Al Jazeera Discovers US-Based Human Rights Groups Exist, Ignores US Funding
Al Jazeera's recent piece frames HRANA as a vital, independent source for Iran's protest death tolls, a necessary voice amidst information blackouts. What it casually glosses over, however, is a rather persistent pattern: US-based, US-funded (or allied-funded) groups emerging as primary 'human rights' sources whenever Washington needs to justify regime change. HRANA's US situs, while mentioned,
doesn't trigger any journalistic curiosity about its funding streams or affiliations, which often lead back to entities like the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) or similar governmental/quasi-governmental outfits notorious for 'democracy promotion' in targeted nations. (Remember Syria? Libya?) One might wonder if similar scrutiny is applied to, say, Israeli human rights organizations. Or if
the US State Department is equally interested in funding groups to report on Saudi Arabian human rights abuses with the same urgency. The selective amplification of certain narratives, especially concerning 'adversaries,' isn't just about reporting; it's about manufacturing consent. When the US government wants a regime gone, suddenly a flood of 'credible' human rights data appears, often from
friendly, well-funded sources ready to oblige. It's a tale as old as foreign policy itself, repackaged for a new generation.