See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Judge as Evil?: Examining Whether Al-Jazeera English-Language Web Site Users Transfer Their Belief in Its Credibility to Its Satellite Network

When Al-Jazeera aired live coverage of civilian casualties during the U.S. military bombardment of Fallujah in the Iraq War, the coverage renewed U.S. criticism that the Qatar-based Arab satellite network biased its coverage against America and aided the terrorist cause. Senior U.S. military spokesman Mark Kimmit suggested that Iraqis “change the channel to a legitimate, authoritative honest news station.” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfi eld went further, noting that what Al-Jazeera was doing in airing the civilian deaths was “vicious, inaccurate, and inexcusable.” Secretary of State Colin Powell, as a result of the Fallujah coverage, demanded that the Qatari foreign minister rein in the network (Mekay, 2004).