Operating In The ‘Grayzone’: The Pro-Hamas Outlet Being Funded By Iran And Russia – I24NEWS – i24NEWS
The virulently anti-Israel news website The Grayzonereceived funds from Iran and Russia, sparking calls for congressional action against the conspiratorial outlet for possible violations of Iran sanctions and the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
The revelations about The Grayzone's finances were first disclosed in The Washington Post this week. Critics have long suspected that it received foreign funding, as the outlet has spread the talking points of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to The Washington Post, Hacked emails and other documents from the Iranian government-funded Press TV show payments of thousands of dollars to a writer who is now Washington-based editor for Grayzone." The article went on to mention that the website's founder, Max Blumenthal, "regularly appears on Russian television and once accepted a trip to Moscow for a celebration of Russian state-controlled video network RT that featured Vladimir Putin.
Ellie Cohanim, the former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism and first Iranian-born envoy, commented on the revelations on X: As Ive stated, @HouseGOP must investigate this is a National Security threat.
Press TV is an Iranian state-owned outlet which was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2021 in an effort to combat Iranian regime propaganda and disinformation.
The Washington Postexplained that the files from Press TVwere mostly in Persian and had been released back in 2022 on Telegram by a hacktivist group called Black Reward. WaPocredited anactivist disinformation researcher, Neal Rauhauser, for converting them into a more usable format that was then provided to the paper.
The Washington Postwrote, The files appear to show that the Iranian broadcaster paid a Washington-based reporter for occasional contributions to its programming in 2020 and 2021 while he was working as a correspondent for Russias Sputnik news outlet. The paper continued, That reporter, Wyatt Reed, had nine bylines in the online publication Grayzone in 2019 and 2020, followed by a gap of two-and-a-half years. He has had 24 more Grayzone bylines since mid-2023, when he was identified as managing editor.
Reed and Grayzone did not respond to numerous i24NEWS press queries and messages via X.
The Grayzone describes itself as an "independent news website producing original investigative journalism on politics and empire." Recent article headlines include "Columbia crackdown led by university prof doubling as NYPD spook," and "'Israeli soldier' from notorious unit confesses to U.S. citizens killing."
The Washington Postalso cited an article written by its founder and editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal whichdevoted thousands of words to allege widespread Israeli attacks against its own citizens on October 7 while saying that Hamas treated hostages well and used clever tactics."
Published on October 27, the article manipulated Israeli eyewitness accounts from the attacks, and selectively edited and mistranslated Hebrew media reporting to provide "proof" for the conspiracy. The article served as the basis for the conspiracy that went on to be widely spread in fringe circles that the IDF fired indiscriminately at Israelis near Hamas targets and was therefore responsible for the majority of the 1,200 Israelis killed on October 7.
The article also misrepresentedi24NEWS reporting from the immediate aftermath.Blumenthal wrote: Much of the shelling in Beeri was carried out by Israeli tank crews. As a reporter for the Israeli Foreign Ministry-sponsored outlet i24 noted during a visit to Beeri, 'small and quaint homes [were] bombarded or destroyed,' and 'well-maintained lawns [were] ripped up by the tracks of an armored vehicle, perhaps a tank.'
i24NEWSis an independently-owned channel not affiliated with any government branch or organization. The original video report by i24NEWS'Middle East correspondent Ariel Oseran was made on October 26 to document the devastation in Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the most notorious sites of the Hamas massacre, and which details terrorists setting homes on fire andshooting civilians at point-blank range.
According to their critics, Blumenthal and Reed both worked to advance the agendas of the Iranian regime and the Russian state. Neither appear to have registered as foreign agents under FARA. Numerous i24NEWSpress queries to Blumenthal were not returned.
Rabbi Cooper told i24NEWS that The Washington Post report raises important questions that need to be addressed by relevant agencies of the government and maybe bi-partisan hearings on the Hill.
American rabbi, author, and media personality Rabbi Shmuley Boteach told i24NEWS that Max Blumenthal is a twisted, deranged, and unhinged antisemite. I am not all surprised that he and his website and his writers are now facing serious allegations from top-tiered news organizations like The Washington Post of having taken money from Iran and Russia. There must be a thorough investigation and if Blumenthal is guilty, he must be arrested and imprisoned for FARA violations.
According to WaPo, Attorneys who deal regularly with Iran sanctions issues said U.S. journalists who were paid by sanctioned Iranian media entities could be in legal jeopardy unless they were granted waivers by the U.S. Treasury Department.