French language news from the Pentagon

DID you know the Pentagon is publishing French language news to support US interests and battle terrorist organisations in North Africa?

I didn't so I was interested to read this article in USA Today that looks at three websites backed by the US authorities, covering the Maghreb as well as South East Europe and Iraq.

The Magharebia.com website offers a news service covering Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, but as it says on its Disclaimer page it is 'sponsored by the US Department of Defence'.

The website has a strong news feel to it, offering readers the chance to vote in polls, promote stories to other readers and even weather reports from the region.

And the number of subjects the site covers is extensive, covering things like the arts, sports, science and technology and health issues.

The site archive has stories from as far back as 2004, but there is no real mark that it is a website published by the US government beyond clicking on links at the foot of the site.

However, the Magharebia.com website allows people to comment on individual stories so you would hope that alternative views are put forward and there is an extensive links page offering a chance to explore a number of other websites.

Does the website being backed by the US Defence Department colour your views of it? Would you trust and follow its news service on a regular basis? Please feel free to leave a comment below.