Al Jazeera is a state-funded broadcaster in Doha, Qatar, owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network.

Initially launched as an Arabic news and current-affairs satellite TV channel, Al Jazeera has since expanded into a network with several outlets, including the Internet and specialty television channels in multiple languages.

Al Jazeera Media Network is a major global news organization, with 80 bureaux around the world.

The original Al Jazeera Arabic channel’s willingness to broadcast dissenting views, for example on call-in shows, created controversies in the Arab States of the Persian Gulf.

The station gained worldwide attention following the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan, when its office there was the only channel to cover the war live.

Al Jazeera Media Network is owned by the government of Qatar.

Al Jazeera Media Network has stated that they are editorially independent from the government of Qatar as the network is funded through loans and grants rather than government subsidies.

Critics have accused Al Jazeera of being a propaganda outlet for the Qatari government.

The network is sometimes perceived to have mainly Islamist perspectives, promoting the Muslim Brotherhood, and having a pro-Sunni and an anti-Shia bias in its reporting of regional issues.