There's a website called Aljazeera.com which isn't connected to the TV company of the same name. I've mentioned it before a while back when, as an internet novice, I mistook the one for the other. Many others have done the same.
On the Aljazeera.com about us page they do have a disclaimer stating that they are "not associated with the controversial Arabic Satellite Channel known as Jazeera Space Channel TV station whose website is Aljazeera.net". This is slightly amusing since much of their output is a lot more controversial than anything the TV station ever comes up with.
In my most cynical moments, I have wondered if this site wasn't specifically set up to cause this confusion and discredit the "real" Al Jazeera. I've been reliably informed that this is nonsense and that al jazeera is a common phrase in Arabic which means "The Island" or "The Peninsula". Fair enough.
In a slightly bored moment, I googled their telephone number (also available on their about us page). It's in the UK. It's actually in London. In fact, it's here. That's rather amusing also. If you want real madcap Thames House is where MI5 has its offices.
Just to add an ironic twist, I actually got onto this today after reading Rachel take on some nutty consipracy theorists and following the link to the Channel 4 News article debunking a conspiracy theory published at Aljazeera.com among other places.
Coincidences are curious things. Am I implying something here? Not really. I'm sure there's a huge amount of office space in the 0207 area and this website is most likely the work of some random tin foil hatters. Maybe a proper journalist should just pop down to their London office and see what they're all about though. Might make an interesting story.
Tags: News, Politics, Media
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment