From “Manoto” to “Al-Hura” / America is the big loser of media arson – Mehr News Agency | RCO News Agency

According to Mehr news agency, quoted by Reuters, Iraq’s Arab-language network Al-Hura, which was founded with the support and financing of the US government with the aim of restoring the country’s tarnished face after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, is looking for a significant decrease in audience and specifically Failing to attract and attract audiences, 160 employees of this network were adjusted and it was on the verge of closure.

Geoffrey Gedmin, the acting CEO of The Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN), the parent company of the Al-Hura TV network, said in a statement to the network’s employees: “Today is a sad day.” We said goodbye to 160 of our colleagues and reduced our workforce to 21%. This retrenchment is mandatory. Congressionally mandated budget cuts forced us to cut corporate costs by approximately $20 million.

MBN consists of two satellite TV channels “Al-Hara” and “Al-Hara Iraq”, as well as two radio stations and several news websites.

Headquartered in Virginia, Al-Hura was founded in February 2004 as part of America’s fruitless efforts to communicate with audiences in the Middle East, and amid heightened anti-American sentiment after the country’s invasion of Iraq in 2003; An effort that failed after about 20 years with the “requirement” of Congress, which is a confirmation of Washington’s inefficiency and failure!

On the website of the parent company of this network, the purpose of its establishment is described as follows: “Presenting a “correct” image of America, Americans and American policies and operating in the field of independent journalism”!

In this statement, the company also pointed to the merger of “Al-Hura” and “Al-Hura Iraq” and claimed that this action was carried out in order to provide the best content of both networks and “Iraq is still a priority and a vital part of the covered area and the MBN ecosystem. will be”!

According to MBN, the reason for this company’s decision to retrench employees is to move away from “brick and mortar business” (it refers to businesses that are physically managed and have an external presence), and to approach new technologies in the field of news. It has been artificial intelligence.

It is clear that the closure of this network, like other networks that Washington provides with large budgets for the purpose of influencing and directing public opinion in a specific region, has occurred due to Washington’s failure to achieve its goals. During the last two decades, the United States launched various Persian-language channels, including “Man and To”, with a large budget and attractive colors; A network that After the failure of the riots project and the huge expenses for subversion, It suffered the same fate as “Al-Hura” and its shutter was officially pulled down not long ago. The closure of the Al-Hura network can also be seen as another disgraceful failure for the American, who is caught in a big and terrible front called Ukraine these days.