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MintPress News
Type of site
News website
Available inEnglish
EditorMnar Adley (née, Muhawesh)
URLmintpressnews.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationOptional
Launched2012

MintPress News (MPN) is an American far left[1][2][3][4] news website founded and edited by Mnar Adley (née, Muhawesh) which was launched in January 2012.[5] It covers political, economic, foreign affairs and environmental issues. It opposes the governments of Israel and Saudi Arabia,[6] and reports geopolitical events from an anti-Western perspective.[7] In their best-known article, MintPress News falsely claimed that the Ghouta chemical attack in Syria was perpetrated by rebel groups rather than by the Syrian Government.[8]

Described as a conspiratorial website,[9][2][10] MintPress News publishes disinformation and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories, according to researchers at Rutgers University and others.[11] MintPress News was a major media domain that spread disinformation about the White Helmets, a Syrian volunteer organization.[12] A report from New Knowledge includes MintPress News as part of the "Russian web of disinformation,"[13][14] and the site has published fake authors attributed to the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency.[15]

The source of MintPress News's funding remains opaque.[8]

History and funding

MintPress News was founded by Mnar Muhawesh (now Adley), a broadcast journalism graduate of St. Cloud State University. She began her career as an intern at Minnesota television station KARE and as a freelance journalist.[16] After posting her own work on a blog, in 2011 she decided to launch her own news site.[17] Muhawesh said she believed "our media has failed us very miserably," and spoke of her aspirations for MintPress, citing uninformed public debates around issues like Iran's nuclear capabilities, or intervention in Syria. "We are in a crucial time in American history where most Americans don't know what's going on in the world around them."[5]

MintPress News said it was a for-profit "regular news organization," with an initial business plan where advertising revenues would exceed costs after three years.[16] MintPress's anonymous investors were originally intended to fund MintPress operations until 2015.[5] The editor had investors, who Muhawesh claimed were "retired businesspeople", but she would not name them, a situation MinnPost said was "unfortunate for a journalism operation fighting alongside people seeking transparency. The site's 'About Us' page is similarly skinny."[18] In a 2013 email to BuzzFeed News, Muhawesh said she restructured the business plan: "MintPress was originally funded by angel investors when I was first putting the company together over a year ago, but that route fell through last year as I restructured the business plan." She added: "I am the sole investor of MintPress."[19]

Muhawesh in 2015 said her funding comes "from donations, sponsorships, grants and ad revenue," and that MintPress was opposed to U.S. intervention in foreign wars, claiming, "President Obama is President Bush on steroids. Why then, do people in the progressive community suddenly support 'spreading democracy' when it is a Democrat carrying out Republican policies?"[20]

Soon afterward, Brian Lambert of MinnPost wrote a blog post following up on Burke's challenge to find out where MintPress's money came from. He reported that emails to them went unanswered, their phone was disconnected, and the original office address in Plymouth, Minnesota, "haven't been valid in well over a year". While MintPress listed 20 of its writers, Lambert wrote it did not indicate where the money was "coming from to pay any of these people".[21]

Content

Initially, MintPress News was a typical center-left publication that reported on matters like climate change and Republican candidates. However, the site's content had a clear focus on Israel and how "'American imperialism' was abetting the humiliation and slaughter of innocent Arabs". The site also ran numerous stories sympathetic to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.[21] The site publishes disinformation[22] and antisemitic conspiracy theories, in addition to regular conspiracy theories.[23][2] The false information published by MintPress News attracts communities, including some Twitter users, that support Assad and the Russian government.[24] MintPress News posts content from Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik,[11][25] and is listed as a "partner" of PeaceData, a Russian fake news site run by the Internet Research Agency.[26][27][28]

Coverage of the Ghouta chemical attacks

On August 29, 2013, an unverified MintPress article attributed to Dale Gavlak and Yahya Ababneh said that Syrian rebels and local residents in Ghouta, Syria alleged that rebels were responsible for the chemical weapons attack on August 21.[19] The story alleged that Saudi Arabia had supplied the rebels with chemical weapons, which the rebels then accidentally set off; Foreign Policy magazine described it as one of the most "crazy" conspiracy theories about chemical weapons attacks in Syria.[29]

On September 20, the Brown Moses Blog published a statement from Gavlak saying that "despite my repeated requests, made directly and through legal counsel, they have not been willing to issue a retraction stating that I was not the author. Yahya Ababneh is the sole reporter and author of the Mint Press News piece."[30][31] Gavlak also said the report had not been verified.[21][32] The dispute was also covered by The New York Times's news blog The Lede and McClatchy.[30][33]

MintPress added an editor's note at the top of the article stating Ababneh was the sole reporter on the ground in Syria, while Gavlak assisted in researching and writing the article. It said that Gavlak was a MintPress News correspondent who had freelanced for the Associated Press in Jordan for a decade. A note at the bottom of the story says: "Some information in this article could not be independently verified. Mint Press News will continue to provide further information and updates."[34] The Russian Foreign Ministry cited the article in future statements.[35][36] On September 21, 2013, MintPress published a statement by Muhawesh saying soon after the article was published, Gavlak retracted her involvement due to pressure from third parties, which Gavlak believed was prompted by Prince Bandar. The statement also claimed that Abadneh was being threatened by Saudi officials.[37]

When asked about the MintPress News story, Åke Sellström, the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Syria remarked, "They are famous for 1001 Arabian Nights stories!"[38]

Pro-Assad coverage claims

In October 2015, the Minnesota Star Tribune published a citizen op-ed by Terry Burke, an activist for the Committee in Solidarity with the People of Syria, in which she accused MintPress News and other "alternative ‘news’ organizations" of "never publish[ing] the international human rights organizations’ reports about the regime’s crimes. Instead, they post interviews with Assad, polls that claim most Syrians support him, articles on rebel or ISIL abuses, and stories that blame the U.S. for Syria’s uprising."[39]

BuzzFeed News in 2013 described the site as having "an agenda that lines up, from its sympathy with the Syrian regime to its hostility to Sunni Saudi Arabia, with that of the Islamic Republic of Iran."[19] According to Bellingcat, MintPress News has received the Serena Shim Award (organized by the Association for Investment in Popular Action Committees), a financial award of an unknown amount, along with other websites which "routinely promote pro-Assad conspiracy theories".[40]

Arbaeen pilgrimage claim

In November 2016, a MintPress News article entitled "Media Blackout As Millions Of Muslims March Against ISIS In Iraq" became a top trending story on Facebook, which prompted criticism that the article was misleading. BuzzFeed News countered, "This week has seen millions of Shiite Muslims participate in Arbaeen, one of the world's largest pilgrimages, in Iraq. But they are not specifically marching against ISIL, nor has there been a 'media blackout.'" BuzzFeed News said the article had been sourced from American Herald Tribune, a website edited by Anthony Hall, a 9/11 and Sandy Hook shooting conspiracy theorist suspended from his job as a professor at an Alberta university on charges of antisemitism.[25] Snopes described the claims in the MintPress article as inaccurate: "The pilgrimage was not a massive protest against ISIS, nor did a "media blackout" prevent news agencies from covering the event."[41] MintPress stood by its story.[42]

Guarani Aquifer

In 2018, MintPress News falsely claimed that Coca-Cola and Nestlé were privatising the Guarani Aquifer, a major South American water reserve. The site falsely claimed that the alleged deal was being negotiated by Brazilian president Michel Temer and has reached an "advanced" stage.[43] The site offered no evidence to support their claims and only provided vague statements. Experts, like law professor Gabriel Eckstein, noted that it would be physically impossible for a private company to control the aquifer due to its large size. Coca-Cola and Nestlé also refuted the allegations.[44]

White Helmets

A study led by Kate Starbird at the University of Washington found that MintPress News was part of a core cluster of websites amplifying disinformation about the White Helmets, a volunteer organization formed during Syrian Civil War. The White Helmets has been the target of disinformation campaigns perpetrated by pro-Assad and pro-Russian groups. Such disinformation increased dramatically following the Douma chemical attack.[45][6][46] Many of Vanessa Beeley's conspiracy theories about the White Helmets appeared on MintPress News.[47]

Frequent contributors and partners

Eva Bartlett, Vanessa Beeley, Max Blumenthal, Miko Peled, Kevin Zeese, and the cartoonist Carlos Latuff are listed as regular contributors to the website.[48]

MintPress News frequently partners with the outlets Project Censored, Free Speech TV, Media Roots Radio, ShadowProof, The Grayzone, Truthout, CommonDreams, and Antiwar.com.[48] Antiwar.com apologized for its role in spreading the MintPress News story that the citizens of Ghouta and Syrian rebels were responsible for the Ghouta sarin attacks of 2013.[49]

See also

References

  1. ^ Adler, Ben (15 March 2022). "Ukrainian mayor, heralded by many, is ultranationalist". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Cuffe, Danil; Simon, Chloe (November 4, 2021). "Fringe right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread antisemitic disinformation about the Pandora Papers". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  3. ^ Sommer, Allison Kaplan (February 29, 2016). "Bernie Sanders Consults With Foreign Policy Expert Who Called Israel 'Predatory' and 'Detrimental' to U.S." Haaretz. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  4. ^ Sandlin, Evan (2016-10-30). "Dereliction of Duty? The Left and the Syrian Civil War". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
  5. ^ a b c Binkovitz, Leah (March 28, 2012). "Mint Press News". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Andriukaitis, Lukas; Beals, Emma; Brookie, Graham; Higgins, Eliot; Itani, Faysal; Nimmo, Ben; Sheldon, Michael; Tsurkov, Elizabeth; Waters, Nick (September 2018). "Disinformation". Breaking Ghouta. The Atlantic Council. pp. 56–74. ISBN 978-1-61977-565-7. JSTOR resrep30699.12. OCLC 1088564125 – via JSTOR.
  7. ^ Schafer, Bret (2019). Sultănescu, Dan (ed.). Tracking Russia's Digital Deception - Analysis of the Kremlin's Information Operations on Social Media. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series E: Human and Societal Dynamics. Vol. 142. IOS Press. pp. 84–96. doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-943-0-84. ISBN 978-1-61499-943-0. OCLC 1104855741. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Wedeen, Lisa (2019). Authoritarian Apprehensions: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria. University of Chicago Press. p. 89. ISBN 9780226650579.
  10. ^ Horne, Benjamin D.; Nørregaard, Jeppe; Adalı, Sibel (2019-04-02). Different Spirals of Sameness: A Study of Content Sharing in Mainstream and Alternative Media. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media. AAAI. p. 261. OCLC 1106337185.
  11. ^ a b Chabria, Anita; Halper, Evan (March 30, 2021). "Effort to stem online extremism accidentally pushed people toward an anarchist". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ Horawalavithana, Sameera; Ng, Kin Wai; Iamnitchi, Adriana (2020). Thomson, Robert; Bisgin, Halil; Dancy, Christopher; Hyder, Ayaz; Hussain, Muhammad (eds.). "Twitter Is the Megaphone of Cross-platform Messaging on the White Helmets". Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Modeling. Cham: Springer International Publishing: 238–239. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-61255-9_23. ISBN 978-3-030-61255-9.
  13. ^ "How a Little-Known Pro-Kremlin Analyst Became a Philippine Expert Overnight -". Coda Story. 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  14. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Russian disinformation system influences PH social media". Rappler. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  15. ^ Ross, Alexander Reid (November 8, 2019). "Fooling the Nation: Extremism and the Pro-Russia Disinformation Ecosystem". Boundary 2. Duke University Press.
  16. ^ a b Brauer, David (January 18, 2012). "Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?". MinnPost. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  17. ^ McKeone Peterson, Liz (November 2012). "Maple Grove Young Entrepreneurs". Maple Grove Magazine. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  18. ^ MinnPost, 18 January 2012, Who is MintPress and why are they doing all this hiring?
  19. ^ a b c Gray, Rosie; Testa, Jessica (October 1, 2013). "The Inside Story of One Website's Defense of Assad". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  20. ^ Muhawesh, Mnar (November 8, 2015). "Counterpoint: Don't bash watchdogs in Syria's 'information war'". StarTribune. Minnesota. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Lambert, Brian (November 11, 2015). "The mystery of MintPress News". MinnPost. Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  22. ^ Guarino, Stefano; Pierri, Francesco; Di Giovanni, Marco; Celestini, Alessandro (2021-03-01). "Information disorders during the COVID-19 infodemic: The case of Italian Facebook". Online Social Networks and Media. 22. Elsevier: 100124. doi:10.1016/j.osnem.2021.100124. ISSN 2468-6964. PMC 8479410. PMID 34604611.
  23. ^ Sunshine, Spencer (2019). "Looking Left at Antisemitism" (PDF). Journal of Social Justice. 9. Transformative Studies Institute: 21. ISSN 2164-7100.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference JICJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ a b Silverman, Craig (November 24, 2016). "Facebook Trending Promoted A Misleading Story About A Muslim Pilgrimage". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  26. ^ Nimmo, Ben; François, Camille; Eib, C Shawn; Ronzaud, Léa (September 2020). "IRA Again: Unlucky Thirteen" (PDF). Graphika.
  27. ^ Quessard, Maud (2020). "Quels dangers pour la démocratie américaine ?". Diplomatie (in French) (106): 81. ISSN 1761-0559. JSTOR 26983667.
  28. ^ Silverman, Jacob (2020-09-07). "A Russian Disinformation Operation Tried to Recruit Me". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  29. ^ Groll, Elias (September 4, 2013). "These Are the 5 Craziest Conspiracy Theories About Syria's Chemical Attacks". Foreign Policy. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  30. ^ a b Mackey, Robert (September 21, 2013). "Reporter Denies Writing Article That Linked Syrian Rebels to Chemical Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  31. ^ "Statement By Dale Gavlak On The Mint Press Article 'Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack'". Brown Moses Blog. September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  32. ^ Tevlin, Jon (October 1, 2013). "Tevlin: If Syria story is true, why is Minnesota news site hiding?". StarTribune. Minnesota. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  33. ^ Prothero, Mitchell (September 22, 2013). "Reporter says story on Minnesota website linking Syrian rebels to chemical weapons wasn't hers". StarTribune. Minnesota. McClatchy. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  34. ^ Gavlak, Dale; Abadneh, Yahya (August 29, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: Syrians In Ghouta Claim Saudi-Supplied Rebels Behind Chemical Attack". MintPress News. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  35. ^ Higgins, Eliot (2017-09-06). "A History of Sarin Use in the Syrian Conflict". Bellingcat. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  36. ^ Reuter, Christoph (2013-10-07). "Assad Regime Wages PR Campaign to Discredit Rebels". Der Spiegel. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  37. ^ Muhawesh, Mnar (September 21, 2013). "Official Statement On Dale Gavlak's Involvement In Syria Exclusive". MintPress News. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  38. ^ Winfield, Gwyn (February 2014). "Modern Warfare" (PDF). CBRNe World. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  39. ^ Burke, Terry (October 27, 2015). "Media beyond the mainstream: Syria's information wars". Star Tribune. Minnesota. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  40. ^ Davis, Charles (September 30, 2019). "Pro-Assad Lobby Group Rewards Bloggers On Both The Left And The Right". Bellingcat. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  41. ^ Evon, Dan (November 29, 2016). "FACT CHECK: Millions of Muslims March Against the Islamic State". Snopes.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  42. ^ Muhawesh, Mnar (December 23, 2016). "Islam, ISIS & Buzzfeed: What You're Not Being Told". MintPress News. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  43. ^ Daudin, Guillaume Daudin; Weymes-McElderry, Sophie (2018-07-04). "No, Coca-Cola and Nestle are not going to privatize South America's largest water reserve". AFP. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  44. ^ Spencer, Saranac Hale (2018-03-16). "Coke and Nestlé Aren't Buying The Guarani Aquifer". FactCheck.org. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  45. ^ Starbird, Kate; Arif, Ahmer; Wilson, Tom; Koevering, Katherine Van; Yefimova, Katya; Scarnecchia, Daniel (2018-06-15). "Ecosystem or Echo-System? Exploring Content Sharing across Alternative Media Domains". Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media. 12 (1). ISSN 2334-0770.
  46. ^ Higgins, Eliot (2021). We Are Bellingcat : Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 119. ISBN 1-63557-730-6. OCLC 1237603958.
  47. ^ Starbird, Kate; Wilson, Tom (2020-01-14). "Cross-Platform Disinformation Campaigns: Lessons Learned and Next Steps" (PDF). Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. 1 (1). doi:10.37016/mr-2020-002.
  48. ^ a b "MintPress News Staff". MintPress News. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  49. ^ Garris, Eric (September 20, 2013). "Retraction and Apology to Our Readers for Mint Press Article on Syria Gas Attack". AntiWar.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
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