Nutrition Label

Posted Dec. 2022 on NewsGuardTech.
com
Reporters and researchers: contact NewsGuard for the latest label
iranintl.com
The website for Iran International English, a U.K.-based digital news
service reporting primarily on Iran. The site obscures its anti-Iran
agenda.
65 / 100
This website generally maintains basic standards of credibility and transparency—with
significant exceptions.
Does not repeatedly publish false content 22 points
Gathers and presents information responsibly 18
Regularly corrects or clarifies errors 12.5
Handles the difference between news and opinion responsibly 12.5
Avoids deceptive headlines 10
Website discloses ownership and financing 7.5
Clearly labels advertising 7.5
Reveals who's in charge, including any possible conflicts of interest 5
NewsGuard newsguardtech.com
Posted Dec. 2022 on NewsGuardTech.com
The site provides names of content creators, along with either contact or
biographical information 5
Ownership and Financing

Iran International is owned by Volant Media UK Ltd, a London-based
broadcasting company that was incorporated in December 2015.
In October 2018, U.K. newspaper The Guardian reported that Iran International
has ties to the government of Saudi Arabia, a longtime enemy of Iran. According
to an unnamed source quoted by The Guardian, a former advisor to the Saudi
royal court, Saud al-Qahtani, helped secure funding for the network. According
to a February 2021 report from the U.S. Office of the Director of National
Intelligence, the agency has “high confidence” that al-Qahtani “participated in,
ordered, or were otherwise complicit or responsible for the death of Jamal
Khashoggi on behalf of [Saudi Crown Prince] Muhammad bin Salman.” Khashoggi
was a dissident Saudi journalist who was assassinated in October 2018 in the
Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The Guardian also reported that U.K. business records show that one of Volant
Media’s directors is Adel Abdulkarim, a Saudi national with a “long working
relationship with well-connected Saudi executives, some of whom have links to
the royal court.” (Records for Volant Media, reviewed by NewsGuard, currently
identify Abdulkarim’s nationality as British.)
One of those executives was said to be Abdulrahman al-Rashed, formerly the
general manager and editor-in-chief, respectively, of the Saudi-financed news
outlets Al Arabiya and Asharq Al-Awsat. Al-Rashed was also “involved in the
operations and funding behind Iran International,” according to the Guardian.
Abdulkarim is the only active director of Volant Media, according to U.K. business
records, and owns “75% or more” shares in the company. Those same records also
disclose that Fahad Ibrahim Aldeghither, a Saudi national, previously held a
similar stake in the company. Aldeghither’s stake ceased in May 2018. The only
other listed entity with significant control of Volant Media is a company
registered in the Cayman Islands. The company’s stake also ceased in May 2018.
The Guardian, quoting another unnamed source, also reported that the Saudi
government contributed $250 million to launch Iran International.
The Wall Street Journal published an article with similar allegations in February
2019 — citing “British corporate records and people familiar with the channel.”
Iran International has denied any connection to the Saudi Arabian government
multiple times since The Guardian’s reporting was published. In a December
2022 email to NewsGuard, Volant Media spokesperson Adam Bailie wrote “Let
me state that no shareholder in Volant Media UK has ties to the Saudi royal family,
either official ties or unofficial ties. Iran International and its sister channel,
Afghanistan International, are editorially independent television channels owned
by Volant Media, a company based in London with a range of private investors,
one of whom is a Saudi Arabian citizen; it has no state backing or affiliation.”
Bailie also stated that Iran International, “gave the most prominent and
consistent coverage of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the time of his death
and over the subsequent years.” NewsGuard reviewed the outlet’s coverage of
the incident and found, unlike state-owned Saudi Arabian sites, Iran International
has typically reported on Khashoggi’s death in a balanced manner.
NewsGuard sent three emails to The Guardian in late December 2022 inquiring
about Bailie’s comments but did not receive a response.
Iran International does not run advertisements.
Content
IranIntl.com states on the About page that the outlet’s mission is to “provide a
fair and balanced view of what happens inside Iran - and also to share news and
views from all over the world for an Iranian population which needs a perspective
on the world outside Iran's borders.” Content appears in English, Persian, and
Arabic.
Iran International publishes English-language news stories in
sections including Iran, Afghanistan, World, Iran Covid, and Iran Politics.
Regardless of the section, stories typically focus on Iran. For example, the
Afghanistan section often includes articles about skirmishes on the Iran-
Afghanistan border. The World section focuses on the Iranian government’s
interactions with foreign governments and news about Iranian immigrants.
An Opinion section consists of op-eds usually written by critics of the Iranian
regime. Contributors have included Saeed Ghasseminejad, a senior advisor at
the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Len
Khodorkovsky, a former United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
The homepage includes a link to listen live to Iran International’s Persian-
language TV broadcast.
Credibility
IranIntl.com articles rely on a variety of sources, from Western news providers
such as Reuters and Radio Farda — the Persian-language arm of the U.S.
government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty news outlet — to
statements by Iranian officials and social media posts. The outlet often quotes
Iranian state media, while noting that those sources are state-controlled.
Headlines accurately reflect the content of articles.
Iran International has a dedicated Opinion section. As noted above, the site
states that the outlet aims to “provide a fair and balanced view of what happens
inside Iran.” However, NewsGuard found that the site’s news coverage often
contains opinionated statements, and that news is often one-sided and critical
of the Iranian government.
For example, a September 2022 article labeled “Iran Protests” — not as “Opinion”
— was titled “Iran’s Clerical Regime Unable To Deal With Generation Z.” The
article stated that since the 1980s, Iran’s government has “violently suppressed
all resistance against its dictatorship, never apologized for its mistakes, and has
never been accountable for its crimes against humanity and violation of human
rights.”
Another September 2022 article labeled “Iran Protests” and “World,” was titled
“Iranians Plan Global Protests For October 1, Buoyed By Support.” The article
stated “Since 2009, almost everything has become worse for Iranians, such as
inflation, brain-drain and personal freedoms. Iranians do not see any hope in the
future of the Islamic regime, and are hopeful for a better future in a country not at
war with the free world.”
Another article from September 2022 was labeled “Politics” and “Iran Protests”
and was titled “Faced With An Uprising, Iran’s State TV Loosens The Safety Valve.”
The article stated that “Two days after comedian Mehran Modiri belatedly
expressed support for the protests, the state TV announced that it has cancelled
his talk show, in a sign of intolerance.”
Three articles from September 2022 described Mahsa Amini, the woman who
died while in the custody of Iran’s so-called morality police after allegedly
violating Iran’s dress code, as a “hijab victim.”
Because IranIntl.com includes opinionated content in articles presented as news,
and because the site’s coverage advances an anti-Iranian government
perspective that it does not disclose, NewsGuard has determined that the site
does not handle the difference between news and opinion responsibly.
In a December 2022 email, Volant Media spokesperson Adam Bailie disagreed
with NewsGuard’s characterization of the site’s handling of news and opinion,
stating: “I would also refute your line about us publishing anti-Iranian opinions:
we do not publish opinion, we report news. We began broadcasting in 2017 as an

editorially independent Persian-language TV news broadcaster, with no
association with any Iranian (or non-Iranian) political or non-political
organisations.”
Iran International posts a corrections policy on its Editorial Guidelines page.
However, NewsGuard found only one correction on the six-year-old site — from
April 2022 — which does not meet NewsGuard’s standard for regularly correcting
errors.
In October 2022, NewsGuard made one phone call and sent four emails to the
site, inquiring about its approach to corrections. None of these outreach
attempts drew a response. In December 2022, Bailie wrote that he would answer
NewsGuard’s inquiries, but he did not immediately provide a response.
Transparency
IranIntl.com discloses its ownership by Volant Media UK Ltd on the bottom of
every page on the site. As reported above, The Guardian and The Wall Street
Journal have linked the network to the Saudi regime, but there has been no
confirmation about the relationship. Therefore, NewsGuard has determined that
the site does not fail the standard for disclosing ownership.
As noted above, in December 2022, Volant Media spokesperson Adam Baillie
denied any connection to the Saudi government.
Editorial leaders are disclosed only if a reader happens to read a story written by
an editor and navigates, via clicking on the author’s name, to that author’s archive
page. For example, a September 2022 story was written by Mardo Soghom, who
is identified as “Chief Editor of Iran International English website” when a user
clicks on his byline. This practice does not meet NewsGuard’s standard for clearly
identifying editorial leaders.
Some stories are credited to their authors, and in some cases, biographical
information about those authors is available on the site. However, most stories
are credited only to “Iran International Newsroom” or are not credited at all. This
does not meet NewsGuard’s standard for providing information about content
creators.
A Contact Us page includes a phone number and email address.
Iran International did not respond to four NewsGuard emails and one
phone call in October 2022 about its disclosures regarding editorial leaders and
content creators. In December 2022, Bailie stated that he would answer
NewsGuard’s inquiries, but did not immediately provide a response.
Iran International does not run advertisements.
History
IranIntl.com was registered in May 2016, according to domain lookup tool
WHOIS. The TV network launched in May 2017, according to business magazine
Fast Company, with a significant number of its journalists coming from Persian-
language Western media outlets such as BBC Persian and Radio Farda.
In October 2018, the U.K.s Office of Communications (Ofcom) confirmed to The
Guardian that it was “examining” an interview by Iran International of Yacoub Hor
al-Tostari, a spokesman for a separatist group in Iran, who praised a September
2018 terrorist attack on civilians in Iran. Ofcom announced in March 2019 that the
channel did not violate any broadcasting rules.
According to a 2021 study by Netherlands-based nonprofit research foundation
Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN), Iran
International was the most popular TV channel among the Iranians surveyed. The
GAMAAN survey reported that approximately half of the respondents said they
trusted Iran International, with approximately the same number saying that the
outlet was biased against the Iranian government.
In October 2022, the pro-Israel think tank The Washington Institute for Near East
Policy reported that Iran-linked accounts had ramped up their anti-Saudi
messaging on social media, “claiming that the kingdom is playing a role in Iran's
ongoing domestic unrest.” According to the Institute, on Oct. 2, 2022, the Sepah
Pasdaran Channel on Telegram — which is affiliated with the Iraninan
Revolutionary Guard Corps — posted a sarcastic and threatening message in
Persian directed at Iran International: “To the agents of the traitorous Farsi-
language media Saudi International [the Iranian regime's name for Iran
International]: a small souvenir will soon be sent to your lord [Saudi crown prince
Muhammad] bin Salman… We have never forgotten you; soon valuable gifts will
be sent to each one of you for your good service to [the House of Saud].
Editor’s Note: This Nutrition Label was updated on Dec. 27, 2022, to add
comments from Volant Media.
Written by: Valerie Pavilonis
Edited by: Eric Effron
Sources
Ownership and Financing
https://find-and-update.company-
information.service.gov.uk/company/09918100
(UK business records)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/31/concern-over-uk-based-
iranian-tv-channels-links-to-saudi-arabia
(The Guardian’s report)
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-adviser-insight/how-the-
man-behind-khashoggi-murder-ran-the-killing-via-skype-idUSKCN1MW2HA
(More on al-Qahtani)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399 (More on Khashoggi)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/08/saudi-aide-accused-of-
directing-khashoggi-moves-closer-back-to-power
(al-Qahtani returns)
https://web.archive.org/web/20181109082200/https:/twitter.com/SaeedKD
(Kamali Dehghan tweet)
https://web.archive.org/web/20200801000000*/https://twitter.com/SaeedKD
(Kamali Dehghan tweet archive)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-sought-vices-help-to-build-a-
media-empire-11549621800
(WSJ on Iran Intl)
https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/Assessment-Saudi-
Gov-Role-in-JK-Death-20210226v2.pdf
(ODNI report)
https://find-and-update.company-
information.service.gov.uk/company/09918100/persons-with-significant-
control
Content
https://www.iranintl.com/en/abouten
https://www.iranintl.com/en/world-en
https://www.iranintl.com/en/afghanistan-en
https://www.iranintl.com/en/opinion (Opinion)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/author/saeed-ghasseminejad (Opinion author)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/author/len-khodorkovsky (Opinion author)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209299143 (Protests Sept. 2022)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209309124 (Protests Sept. 2022)
https://web.archive.org/web/20210717115751/https://iranintl.com/en/iran/protest
er-killed-during-second-night-demonstrations-iran
(Protests Khuzestan)
Credibility
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202206287995 (Cites Reuters)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202206052213 (Cites Radio Farda)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202205267715 (Cites Iranian State sources)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209293567 (Cites social media)

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209160361 (Cites official statements)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209262976 (Amini being struck; anon source)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209195410 (Amini CT scan; anon source)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209200749 (Protests; anon source)
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2022/09/19/Mahsa-Amini-s-
medical-scans-show-skull-fractures-caused-by-severe-trauma-Report
(Al Alarabiya reporting on CT scan)
https://anfenglish.com/news/skull-ct-scan-proves-mahsa-amini-was-tortured-
to-death-62570
(ANF English reporting on CT scan)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202204051731 (Vague correction, April 2022)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209305107 (Opinion in news)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209295280 (“Hijab victim”)
Transparency
https://www.iranintl.com/en/author/mardo-soghom (Editor example)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/author/iran-international-newsroom (Iran
International Newsroom credit example)
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209205148 (No credit example)
History
https://gamaan.org/2021/04/05/iranians-attitudes-toward-media-a-2021-
survey-report/
(2021 viewership report)
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/oct/02/ofcom-investigates-tv-
network-interview-praising-terror-attack-iran
(II investigated)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/26/iran-international-tv-station-
did-not-break-rules-over-interview-praising-ahvaz-attack-ofcom
(II exonerated)
https://www.whois.com/whois/iranintl.com (WHOIS)
https://twitter.com/MSoghom?
ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
(EIC from Radio Free Europe)
https://en.radiofarda.com/author/mardo-soghom/ujuvqo
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryam-sinaiee-7ba99914a/?
originalSubdomain=uk
(Reporter from Radio Free)
https://twitter.com/Parpanchi (Radio Farda)
https://www.fastcompany.com/90246678/iranian-exiles-use-creativity-and-
tech-smarts-to-get-real-news-past-the-regimes-censors
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/iraqi-militia-group-makes-
credible-new-threat-against-gulf-states
(Wash Institute October 2022 report)
© 2022 NewsGuard Technologies, Inc.

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Does not repeatedly publish false content 22 points

Gathers and presents information responsibly 18

Regularly corrects or clarifies errors 12.5

Handles the difference between news and opinion responsibly 12.5

Avoids deceptive headlines 10

Website discloses ownership and financing 7.5

Clearly labels advertising 7.5

Reveals who's in charge, including any possible conflicts of interest 5

Ownership and Financing

we do not publish opinion, we report news. We began broadcasting in 2017 as an

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209293567 (Cites social media)

© 2022 NewsGuard Technologies, Inc.

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