Nepotism stands against objective journalism: Mehdi Hasan should be held to account

Last year, Mehdi apologised for his remarks against the followers of other faiths and atheists and his current employers at “The Intercept” stood by him. His Qatari monarchist employers at Al Jazeera have depended on him to push their Al Qaeda agenda against Syria. The same Al Jazeera hosted guests who advocated for the Genocide of Shia Muslims.

Such is Mehdi’s track record. He picks on easy targets, panders to powerful neoconservatives and looks for his next pay check.

On all the issues, Mehdi virtue signals the conventional talking points of mainstream media and centrists. And uses his aggressive talking style to package his stale cliches and pandering as something else.

Mehdi Hasan has an atrocious track record on Syria and Yemen. Currently, he is angling for a job at MSNBC to supplement his pay cheques from
Qatari theocrats and the Intercept.

The latter, barring Glen Greenwald, has long been co-opted by the establishment. The intercept was pushing the same, evidence free conspiracy theories about Russia.

In a recent and typically hostile interview with an Iranian academic, Marandi, Mehdi Hasan was once again exposed as a pathetic and incompetent shill. Mehdi tried to shove the pro-sanctions agenda that have devastated the health sector in Iran and lead to deaths and suffering. He then chastised Iran for fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, Iran briefly coordinated its support to Iraq’s fight against ISIS with the United States.

But Mehdi would have none of it and kept peddling his pathetic binaries. He barely allowed Marandi to even present his point of view. And when Marandi did, Mehdi looked was exposed as both foolish and insecure.

The problem with these type of conspiracy theories is that they can rebound against those peddling them. It is disappointing that US Shia organisations promote such characters. And the reason aside from Mehdi’s aggressive and bullying speeches are his personal relations with the organisers.

This nepotism is emblematic of a larger problem. This is why Shia Muslim communities in North America are irrelevant. Not just in America but globally as well.

These networks that promote Mehdi are built by those who are utterly clueless about politics, populism and the media. They are built by successful professionals – in other fields. None of them could actually compose even a proper social media comment on Shiaism, media and politics.

Mehdi represents this rot and therefore, it is not surprising that individuals and groups with weak imaginations and an even weaker understanding of their faith blindly follow a British gaslighter.

(image Courtesy of social media)

Mehdi Hasan: A conscience for hire