Right before the far-right-wing propaganda cable station and site NewsMax made a push to dethrone its competition at Fox after the latter dared to report the true outcome of the 2020 election, it accepted a $50 million cash investment from a Qatari billionaire, enough to keep the then-struggling operation solvent, the Washington Post reports. At the time of the investment, the market value of Newsmax was estimated to be between $100-200 million.
At the time of the purchase, Qatar faced embargo from many of its Middle Eastern neighbors for allegedly supporting terror groups throughout the region. In various transactions in 2019 and 2020, Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani used a London-based investment fund to finance the deal and after takeover, allegedly directed the network to broadcast more Qatari-friendly reports, perhaps in an attempt to sway the opinion of then-Oval Office occupant Donald Trump, who sided with those organizing the boycott.