SNA (Tokyo) — US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has reportedly lobbied the government of Qatar to crack down on free expression in the Arabic news media.

“Turn down the volume on Al Jazeera‘s coverage, because it is full of anti-Israel incitement,” Blinken allegedly told Qatar Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani during a state visit on October 13.

According to Axios, Blinken bragged about the pressure he had placed on Doha ten days later while speaking to Jewish-American leaders.

The US secretary of state has been outspoken in the past about restrictions on freedom of expression when it is imposed by Washington’s authoritarian rivals.

“Our commitment, the United States commitment to freedom of expression, freedom of the press, is unwavering, and it’s unwavering because it’s the bedrock of a healthy democracy,” Blinken declared at a Freedom of Expression Roundtable held in New York in September last year.

Blinken’s campaign to muzzle Al-Jazeera runs in parallel with more open threats by the Israeli government to ban the news outlet.

Israel Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi has been seeking authority to shut down Al-Jazeera in the country, but has met some resistance from other parts of the government.

“We are deeply concerned by Israeli officials’ threats to censor media coverage of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, using vague accusations of harming national morale,” responded Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour. “CPJ urges Israel not to ban Al-Jazeera and to allow journalists to do their jobs. A plurality of media voices is essential in order to hold power to account, especially in times of war.”

This article was originally published on October 30, 2023, in the “Japan and the World” newsletter. Become a Shingetsu News supporter on Patreon and receive the newsletter by email each Monday morning.