Al Jazeera assessed as the most reliable source of news in the Middle East by Arab academics

Demonstrating its unrivaled popularity in the region, the poll found that Al Jazeera's viewership was over three times that of its closest rival, and over twenty-eight times that of its third closest competitor.

Over 96% of the Arab academics surveyed found Al Jazeera a reliable source for news, and over 73% expressed their confidence that the channel would quickly correct any mistakes that surfaced in news reports.

Speaking about the poll, the Director of the Knowledge World Centre for Polls stated, "This is the largest poll of its kind ever undertaken in the Arab World. By working for almost one year and sampling almost half of all political science and media professors in the region, we believe that we have illuminated peoples' understanding of broadcast news viewing patterns in this part of the world. As the results show, our study found that Al Jazeera is the most trusted and widely viewed channel in the Arab world."

Upon seeing the poll result, Al Jazeera's Director General Wadah Khanfar said, "We are very pleased with the results of this poll. It is further recognition by academic professionals across the Middle East on the value of our mission of bringing groundbreaking independent news to the Arab world. This poll serves as a testament to the professionalism and hard work of Al Jazeera's staff around the world."

According to the Knowledge World Centre for Polls, based in Amman, Jordan, the poll was designed to measure the perceived objectivity and professionalism of Al Jazeera among the Arab world's academic elite. Conducted over 11 months in 19 Arab countries, the Knowledge World Centre for Polls sampled over 600 PhD holders, almost 50% of all Political Science and Media professors in the Middle East, almost all of whom reported using Al Jazeera as a primary source of news.