Qatar royal invested $50m in pro-Trump Newsmax, Washington Post reports

A member of the Qatari royal family invested around $50 million in the US conservative cable news channel, promoted by former President Donald Trump during his time in office, a report by the Washington Post said.

The right-wing news outlet is said to have received the investment between 2019 and 2020, the Post revealed yesterday, citing documents which were seen by the paper and confirmed by representatives of both Newsmax and the royal.

The report claims that former Qatari government official Sheikh Sultan Bin Jassim Al Thani invested in Newsmax through Heritage Advisors, a London-based investment fund that he owned.

At the time, a coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE had imposed a diplomatic and economic blockade against the Gulf state for its alleged support of terrorist organisations, accusations that Doha has denied. The Arab rift with Qatar came to a formal end in January 2021, with Qatar’s participation in the 41st GGC Summit in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia.

SCOOP–>A Qatari royal invested about $50 mln in right-wing cable channel Newsmax. Top editorial brass told employees to avoid critiquing the emirate: "We were not allowed to criticize Qatar," one person told us. From @DavidKenner @jocwapo and me. https://t.co/Vmy4KJS9uu

— Sarah Ellison (@sarahellison) March 26, 2024

“Qatar had counted on its relationship with the United States for protection, but President Donald Trump initially sided with its regional rivals, praising their move in 2017 and criticizing Qatar for funding terrorism,” the report said.

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Newsmax was reportedly looking for investors to compete with the likes of Fox News. The Post cited former Newsmax employees as saying that they were urged to soften news coverage of Qatar, although the outlet rejects these.

CEO Christopher Ruddy reportedly instructed pundits and reporters not to criticise Qatar and reprimanded a host who did so in 2018. That same year, Politico reported that the Qatari government was looking to acquire a major stake in Newsmax.

“We were not allowed to criticise Qatar,” one employee told the Post. “We were told very clearly from the top down, no touching this.”

Yesterday, the Hill cited a Newsmax spokesperson as saying: “In 2019 Newsmax received a minority investment from a UK-based fund with a Qatari investor that also invested in a company associated with the current Washington Post publisher. Newsmax’s coverage of Qatar has always been balanced, including publishing many online and TV reports quite critical of its activities.”

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