A note on Libya’s weaponized media outlets
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Yesterday, Jordan-based pro-Haftar channel @218tv published an article that badly distorted comments I made to @afp.

To their credit, 218TV corrected the quotes and apologized after I rang the alarm. But they claimed it was an unintentional mistake. https://twitter.com/w_lacher/status/1246168849587802117?s=21

In fact, it was clearly intentional. Libyan media outlets on both sides of the divide routinely distort foreign media coverage to suit their political agendas.

Pro-Haftar outlets use this technique particularly copiously and brazenly. 218TV is among the worst offenders.

Here, for example, 218TV claimed to summarize a @guardian @burke_jason article about the August 2019 drone strikes on Murzuq - but it removed all references to Haftar and the UAE, who were responsible for the strikes.

(Thanks @al_bashbash for highlighting this case).

In another case (you could probably find examples every day), 218TV completely distorted an article by @emad_badi and @el_khawaga, making them say that the fault for Haftar‘s offensive lay with Serraj. https://twitter.com/emad_badi/status/1133749553675608064?s=21

The website @observatoryLY is even more notorious in this domain. Last April, it twisted an @alexcrawfordsky report to suit its pro-Haftar line. When confronted, it then claimed the Tripoli government had pressured @alexcrawfordsky into protesting. https://twitter.com/alexcrawfordsky/status/1118141807752298496?s=21

This particular technique is just one Libyan media outlets use to spread disinformation. It relies on the limited English language proficiency of the Libyan public, and on the assumption that foreign journalists and researchers don’t speak Arabic, or don’t follow Libyan outlets.

Holding such outlets accountable is made more difficult by the fact that they often deliberately conceal their ownership and sources of funding.

In the case of 218TV, the top executive is known ( @Elsrari) but it’s unclear how the channel funds itself.

As for @observatoryLY, it’s widely believed that it is linked to Aref al-Nayed, who also owns @LibyasChannel (which he claims to run with his own funds).

But the site hides its ownership & location, making it hard to pursue for the disinformation it dispenses on a daily basis.

The opacity surrounding ownership & funding also applies to outlets on the other side of the divide, incl. 3 Istanbul-based channels: @libyaalahrartv (run by a prominent Muslim Brother); @FebruaryChannel (successor to al-Naba TV) & @tanasuhTV (run by son of controversial Mufti).

What all of these outlets have in common is that they project their partisan agendas back to Libya from the safety of foreign capitals - most of the people who own and run them are not affected by the conflicts they are fueling.

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