On ‘Alternative’ and ‘Independent’ Media

Quick thoughts on Al Jazeera, foreign correspondence, and new media in 2026.

I would not rely on Al Jazeera for so much as the weather. I don’t share, amplify, or in any way legitimize Al Jazeera. There are other ways to get news from Palestine, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Lebanon, and Syria, without the need of foreigners.

Al Jazeera has always amplified the imperialist human rights industry, coinciding with US and EU attacks on sovereign countries in Latin America. In 2018, AJ sided with US-backed terrorists during the failed coup attempt against Nicaragua’s Sandinista government.

Al Jazeera is a well-funded mainstream international news network. It is a state media network, controlled by US aircraft carrier Qatar. It cannot be classified as ‘alternative media’, nor does it advance a global south agenda. A full-time salaried position paying $75,000/year is not negligible. They’re fulfilling a specific purpose.

I’m writing this in Toronto, where media literacy is critically low among Canadian academics, activists, and leftists in general, many of whom have become reliant on Al Jazeera for news and perspectives. AJ has systematically captured a wide audience and disoriented them by instilling highly managed information.

Generally speaking, someone primarily working in state media or corporate-owned media should not be referred to as an ‘independent journalist’. They’re certainly not reporting independently while on the payroll of a major network or mainstream press agency. In certain cases, some stringers may be able to work with some independence.

Working and appearing in state media, I’ve been labeled as a proxy and spokesperson for various governments and their respective agendas. The same must be applied to those working at all state-controlled and corporate-controlled media.

Much of what’s considered alt media, including media personalities and pages with large audiences, has received funding from governments, NGOs, private individuals and corporations. Without full knowledge of who governs or finances these, do not assume journalistic independence.

News outlets require a considerable budget to maintain offices and correspondent teams in different countries. A single week-long overseas deployment of a correspondent or team requires several thousands of dollars at minimum. That cost increases with production value. All journalists and outlets have to get their funding from somewhere. The majority of what’s considered ‘alternative’ or ‘independent’ cannot sustain itself from viewer subscriptions alone.

Flights, press and entrance visas, travel within country, accommodation, camera and transmission equipment and/or equipment rental, fixers, local producers and camera operators, a driver, a language interpreter, in some cases security escort, are just some of the costs.

I have reported across Latin America and the Caribbean and have also declined invitations to report in several countries for a number of practical and ethical reasons.

For a journalist to produce credible reporting of value, they need to have a particular expertise in the country and region, including knowledge of the history of the place and/or issues. Often, this requires the journalist to know the language, not only to engage with people and officials (which can be set up through a host organization fixer and interpreter), but more importantly, to be able to monitor news and media daily and because some immersion in the culture is necessary to be able to contextualize on a basic level.

The Western Media War: How Larry Ellison Runs Propaganda for ‘Israel’

NGOs and human rights outfits regularly organize trips for propaganda purposes or to carry out activities which constitute a form of foreign interference. Journalists are deployed overseas for the purpose of slandering a foreign government and the country’s political and economic model.

Without considerable support from a government or institution, like a union, social movement, political party, an alien reporter/agent can become entangled in any number of things.

As an example, I would consider accepting a warm invitation to visit the Donbas, in solidarity with the people of the Donbas. However, years of living and experience reporting in Latin America does not automatically qualify me to produce useful or credible reporting in Donbas.

Perhaps if news audiences better understood the process of reporting—whether freelance, formally as a correspondent for an outlet, with or without official accreditation in the country—they’d pose more questions when a reporter/agent pops up in a foreign country during a major news event. They should also consider the interests and objectives of an outlet or media personality which begins to cover an issue, country or region that they don’t normally report on.

All this to say—in response to this question I get all the time—that almost no one in mainstream or alternative media is operating independently and journalists working in state-affiliated media are actually the most straightforward cases: For example, a reporter for a major Canadian news network on an overseas assignment to cover an election is an agent of and represents the combination of interests of the network’s wealthy owners, corporate funders and the Canadian state and government.

The interests represented in new media can be a lot more shadowy and hard to trace.

Media personalities, journalists, and real-time news update accounts (like OSINT accounts on X and Telegram) are motivated by financial incentives, often earning from simply posting or streaming, on monetized accounts—regardless of the truthfulness or accuracy of the information. The majority of account managers are not on the ground; they are neither from nor based in the countries they cover and have never left their home office setups. They’re simply copy and paste artists recycling and repurposing what already exists—often posting information first published in conventional mainstream media. AI is already able to replace this. Some are profiting greatly from disinforming. Virality is incentivized. Thoroughness, accuracy and prudence are not.

News readers, viewers and listeners are thus responsible for locating reliable, credible, information sources and evaluating them on continuous basis. Content and sensational posts, based on rumor, speculation and inaccurate information, which rely on automatic translators, and which cannot be corroborated by the poster, provide no useful reporting and, at best, lead to poor analysis.

Finally, journalists are spies.