Al Jazeera controversies and criticism Al Jazeera is pro-American. Voice of Russia made the same claim. Another rival, Iranian Press TV, has also published articles critical of Al Jazeera, claiming that Al Jazeera has a pro-American bias and serves Israeli interests. Their criticism of Al Jazeera came along with criticism of Qatar's government, and reports of rallies against the government. On April 28, 2015, Matthew Luke, Al Jazeera America's former Supervisor of Media and Archive Management, filed a US$15 million lawsuit against his former employers over unfair dismissal. Luke alleged that he had been unfairly dismissed by the network after he had raised concerns with
Al Jazeera was Al Jazeera's first day of 24-hour broadcasting. Employment had more than tripled in one year to 500 employees, and the agency had bureaus at a dozen sites as far as EU and Russia. Its annual budget was estimated at about $25 million at the time. However controversial, Al Jazeera was rapidly becoming one of the most influential news agencies in the whole region. Eager for news beyond the official versions of events, Arabs became dedicated viewers. A 2000 estimate pegged nightly viewership at 35 million, ranking Al Jazeera first in the Arab world, over the Saudi Arabia-sponsored Middle East