{{Short description|Libyan independent alternative news agency}} {{Infobox company | name = Mathaba News Agency | logo = | type = News agency | industry = | fate = Defunct | predecessor = | successor = | founded = {{Start date and age|1999}} | founders = | defunct = {{circa}} {{End date and age|2011}} | hq_location_city = | hq_location_country = Libya | area_served = | key_people = | products = News stories | owner = International Green Charter Movement<!-- or: | owners = --> | num_employees = | num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) --> | parent = }} The '''Mathaba News Agency (MNA)''' was an independent alternative news agency founded in 1999. According to the site, MATHABA stood for '''M'''edia '''A'''ctive '''T'''o '''H'''elp '''A'''ll '''B'''ecome '''A'''ware. The agency's tagline was, "News That Matters."<ref name=MNA-about>{{cite news|title=About Us|url=http://www.mathaba.net/about|accessdate=14 January 2014|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=14 January 2014|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628075700/http://www.mathaba.net/about/|archive-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref>{{efn|MNA is not to be confused with the World Mathaba Organization ({{langx|ar|المثابة العالمية }} {{Transliteration|ar|''al-Mathāba al-'ālamiyya.''}}) (al-Mathaba Aalamiya, meaning "The World Center"), founded by the Libyan state in 1982 to further world-revolutionary and anti-imperialist goals.<ref name="globalsecurity">{{cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/libya/mathaba.htm|title=Al Mathaba: Anti-Imperialism Center (AIC)|website=GlobalSecurity.org|access-date=Feb 5, 2024}}</ref> The World Mathaba Organization organized a number of conferences in Tripoli, attended by leftist and anti-Western leaders including Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF, Daniel Ortega of the FSLN in Nicaragua, Raul Reyes of Colombia's FARC, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil.<ref name="globalsecurity"/> }}
The Mathaba News Agency provided hosting and news services for the International Green Charter Movement (IGCM),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.greencharter.com |title=International Green Charter Movement|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819163306/http://greencharter.com/ |archive-date=2011-08-19 |website=GreenCharter.com}}</ref> based on Gaddafi's ''Green Book'' and given coverage to the political philosophy it espouses, known as the Third Universal Theory. The MNA also hosted a forum and a private microblogging service.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mathaba Forum|website=Mathaba.org|url=https://mathaba.org/|access-date=Feb 5, 2024}}</ref> The MNA referred to itself as "the first stateless news organization in history," with the goal of offering readers "a better understanding of public issues and positive development".<ref name=MNA-about />
It has had limited comments and no new material for most of the period since the fall of the Qaddafi government in 2011.
==Content== At the time of a 2002 report in ''The New York Times'', Mathaba represented the closest thing to an online outlet for foreigners to engage the Libyan government, even inviting visitors to send an SMS message purportedly to Gaddafi himself.<ref>{{cite news|title=Word for Word/Cyberdiplomacy; Mr. Qaddafi, You've Got Mail: 'Hope 2cu Soon Again in the Desert'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/10/weekinreview/word-for-word-cyberdiplomacy-mr-qaddafi-you-ve-got-mail-hope-2cu-soon-again.html|author=David F. Gallagher|accessdate=22 October 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=10 November 2002}}</ref>
During the 2011 war on Libya, the Mathaba News Agency provided extensive coverage of the news of the Libyan Jamahiriya.
Mathaba's content was a mixture of original and republished articles along with various blog posts and videos, as well as excerpts from speeches. The site's official disclaimer stated that the site's content "should be treated simply as a catalog of information of real significance" and that not all articles are necessarily endorsed by Mathaba itself.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://mathaba.net/info/disclaimer.htm |title=Disclaimer|agency=Mathaba News Agency|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208211216/http://mathaba.net/info/disclaimer.htm |archive-date=2013-12-08 }}</ref>
=== Accusations of antisemitism === The commentary of controversial figures such as David Duke and Louis Farrakhan were among those selected for publication on the site.<ref>{{cite news|title="Inauguration" ...Wake Up!|author=David Duke|author-link=David Duke|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=620522|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055238/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=620522|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 4, 2016|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=3 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Excerpt from Louis Farrakhan's speech dealing with the Israeli Lobby and the International Bankers|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=623053|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221212438/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=623053|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 21, 2013|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=17 March 2010}}</ref>
It accused Hillary Clinton of leading "banker jewish zionist-elite gangsters"<ref name="sep 27 update">{{cite news|title=Update on the war against Libya and Africa - September 27, 2011|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628827|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304054804/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628827|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 4, 2016|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=28 September 2011}}</ref> and called Google "a company owned by Zionist Jews".<ref>{{cite news|title=Youtube removes VSMRK's "Truth in Libya" reporting account|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628901|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=7 October 2011|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926214228/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628901|archive-date=Sep 26, 2015}}</ref> The agency denied any accusations of anti-Semitism, saying, "we have regular Jewish contributors and analysts, we are not against ANY religion," but that it would report on statistical anomalies it deemed newsworthy such as "the fact that all five directors of the U.S. money supply (Federal Reserve Bank) are Jewish," and inviting readers to "draw their own conclusions".<ref>{{cite news|title=Michael Jackson: 'The Jews Do It On Purpose'|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=622309|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=8 December 2009|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120431/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=622309|archive-date=Mar 4, 2016}}</ref>
=== Conspiracy theories === Conspiracy theories were a common fixture of Mathaba's content, including claims that Osama bin Laden had been dead for years before he was reported killed;<ref>{{cite news|title=9/11 Ten Years On:There are No Excuses For Buying the Myth|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628717|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318010919/http://mathaba.net/news/?x=628717|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 18, 2015|author=Martin Iqbal|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=21 September 2011|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> that the AIDS virus was created by the World Health Organization to reduce the populations of nonwhite African countries;<ref>{{cite news|title=The Truth About AIDS: The Start of the White War against Black Africa|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628839|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317194234/http://mathaba.net/news/?x=628839|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 17, 2015|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=29 September 2011|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> and that Zionists control the media and were behind the Assassination of John F. Kennedy,<ref name="psywar">{{cite news|title=PSYWAR: The Fake Fall of Tripoli and the Zionist Dragon's Butchery Across Palestine|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628926|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222000627/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628926|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 22, 2013|author=Jonathan Azaziah|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=10 October 2011}}</ref> the September 11 attacks,<ref>{{cite news|title=September 11, 2011: Zionist Shock Therapy and the Birth of a Lie|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628741|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318005212/http://mathaba.net/news/?x=628741|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 18, 2015|author=Martin Iqbal|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=22 September 2011|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> and the wars in Iraq and Libya.<ref name="psywar"/>
==Libyan civil war== During the 2011 Libyan Civil War, Mathaba featured articles and republished blog posts<ref>{{cite news|title=Morris Herman: Libya News Updates Round Up - October 15 |url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=629004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100513/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=629004|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 4, 2016|accessdate=16 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=16 October 2011}}</ref> from a pro-Gaddafi perspective, including reporting on Hugo Chavez's support for the Gaddafi government,<ref>{{cite news|title=Chavez: "We only recognize one Libyan government, the one led by Muammar Gaddafi!"|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628243|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905025541/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628243|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 5, 2012|accessdate=24 August 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=24 August 2011}}</ref> while it also reported on Western opposition to the NATO 2011 military intervention in Libya, citing articles by Dennis Kucinich, among others.<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Rep. Kucinich: NATO's Libya Generals Should Be Hauled To Court|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628241|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804195448/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628241|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 4, 2012|accessdate=24 August 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=24 August 2011}}</ref> Frontline reports were regularly published summarizing each day's events, with claims of many battlefield victories by Gaddafi loyalists.<ref name="sep 27 update"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Latest Roundup From Libya - August 25 to 26|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628306|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235152/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628306|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 3, 2016|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=26 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Update on the war against Libya and Africa - October 1-3, 2011|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628875|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222020252/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628875|url-status=usurped|archive-date=February 22, 2013|accessdate=22 October 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=3 October 2011}}</ref> On 16 August 2011, three months after rebels had defeated Gaddafi forces in Misrata, the news agency reported that "Misrata has been liberated by loyalist volunteers of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the Libyan Defence Forces."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628042 |agency=Mathaba News Agency|title=Confirmed: Misrata is Liberated|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120426/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628042 |archive-date=2016-03-04|date=16 August 2011|url-status=usurped |access-date=27 August 2011}}</ref> It further reported, on 25 August 2011, that news reports showing Tripoli in the hands of the rebels were "fake footage from Qatar" made using a "replica of Tripoli in Qatar ... used to spread fake media reports on Jazeera, CNN and the BBC worldwide."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628296|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908141716/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628296|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2012-09-08|title= Tripoli: Battles Raging Against Invaders|date=25 August 2011|access-date=27 August 2011|agency=Mathaba News Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628301 |title=Tripoli City Center Not Under Rebel Control|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209192213/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628301 |archive-date=2013-12-09|date=25 August 2011|access-date=27 August 2011|url-status=usurped |agency=Mathaba News Agency}}</ref> As late as 1 September 2011, with the opposition in control of most of the country, the agency claimed that Gaddafi still had "massive support among an estimated 95% of the population."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628451 |title=Col. Muammar Qaddafi Addresses Libyan People| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055747/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628451 |archive-date=2016-03-04|date=1 September 2011|access-date=1 September 2011|url-status=usurped |agency=Mathaba News Agency}}</ref>
On 13 October 2011, Mathaba reported that 80% of both Tripoli and Benghazi were controlled by Gaddafi loyalists, as well as 90-100% of the southern portion of the country.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Green Flag of the People|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628951|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055651/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=628951|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 4, 2016|author=Dennis South|agency=Mathaba News Agency|accessdate=22 October 2011|date=13 October 2011}}</ref> When NATO declared after the announcement of death of Muammar Gaddafi on 20 October that it would soon cease its military operations in the country, Mathaba stated that NATO had "surrendered".<ref>{{cite news|title=NATO Surrenders: The Real Deal|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=629074|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010195732/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=629074|url-status=usurped|archive-date=October 10, 2014|author=Dennis South|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=21 October 2011|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref> The agency also insisted that the video and images of Gaddafi's capture and body were faked and that he was "not captured and not killed" but "very much alive in more ways than one", and though he "does not need to speak... in the future if the time is right... he may choose to address us again". Readers were instructed to continue to spread the Green Charter in the meantime.<ref>{{cite news|title=Qaddafi Not Dead|url=http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=629077|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815073117/http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=629077|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 15, 2014|agency=Mathaba News Agency|date=21 October 2011|accessdate=22 October 2011}}</ref>
== See also == * Jamahiriya News Agency
== Notes == {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist|33em}}
==External links== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130821143437/http://www.mathaba.net/ Mathaba News Agency website]}}
Category:1999 establishments in Libya Category:Arab news agencies Category:Government agencies established in 1999 Category:Muammar Gaddafi Category:News agencies based in Libya