GB News pays damages after airing 'untrue' claim by UAE influencer about Islamic Relief

British broadcaster GB News has apologised and paid "substantial damages" after it broadcasted false claims made by an Emirati influencer that the UK-based charity Islamic Relief had funded "terrorists".

The claim by Amjad Taha, who often appears in right-wing media outlets advancing Emirati talking points, was made during the 16 February edition of the The Camilla Tominey Show.

Taha incorrectly said Islamic Relief "is sending money all the way to some terrorist groups in the Middle East…"

In September, GB News issued a clarification, which read: "We accept the allegation that Islamic Relief has funded terrorist groups is untrue.

"Islamic Relief has stated it does not promote or support extremism of any kind and that it is a purely humanitarian organisation."

GB News has also removed the offending clip from its channels and has broadcast an apology.

An Islamic Relief spokesperson said: "We are very pleased that it has been possible to draw a line under this complaint. GB News gave a platform to serious allegations which are not only totally untrue but run contrary to the core principles on which we operate.

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"Given that our own humanitarian workers have themselves been killed by terrorists, these allegations are particularly offensive and deeply troubling. They perpetuate disinformation that not only threatens the lives of our colleagues, but also our beneficiaries."

The UAE has long been fixated on Islamic Relief and painting it as a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been proscribed by the Gulf country.

Taha's claims cited the proscription of Islamic Relief by the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Israel has also banned the organisation from operating in the occupied West Bank.

In 2023, the New Yorker reported that the UAE had financed a smear campaign against Islamic Relief and sought to link officials of the organisation to the Muslim Brotherhood and violent extremist groups. 

Taha is part of a growing group of Emirati and other Gulf-based influencers who are promoting normalisation with Israel and a defence of the UAE's foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa.

Presenting himself as an analyst during his media appearances, he has led the charge to link the Sudanese army to the Muslim Brotherhood and to Hamas in Gaza.

The UAE backs the Sudanese army's opponents, the paramilitary Rapid Support Force, in the country's civil war.