In the feature film The Correspondent, award-winning Australian journalist Peter Greste is portrayed by Richard Roxburgh as a reporter working for Al Jazeera in Egypt who is imprisoned for simply doing his job, for telling the news.

But coverage of Al Jazeera generally omits its controversial history since it was founded in 1996 by the Qatari royal family. Al Jazeera made its reputation after the attacks of September 11, 2001, doing frontline reporting from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But it is not an independent TV network; it is a project that serves the Qatari leadership and shapes Arab public opinion. Qatar backs the extremist Muslim brotherhood, and Al Jazeera has been banned for incitement in Arab countries including Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.