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Outlet profile

The National (Opinion)

UAE state-aligned, center-right internationally

Owned byInternational Media Investments (IMI), a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC), privately owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, UAE Vice President and half-brother of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
FundingFunded by IMI based on performance benchmarks, with revenue from print and programmatic advertising, sponsored supplements, and editorial partnerships; not required to turn a profit
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

The National was founded on April 17, 2008, by Abu Dhabi Media, a UAE government-owned company, with a roster of veteran British Fleet Street journalists — including former Daily Telegraph editor Martin Newland — recruited to launch it as a serious English-language broadsheet. In 2016 it was sold to International Media Investments (IMI), owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the same Emirati royal who owns Manchester City Football Club, and was relaunched in 2017 under new editor-in-chief Mina Al-Oraibi. Media Bias/Fact Check rates it Right-Center with mixed factual reporting, and the Financial Times has described it as reflecting 'Abu Dhabi's worldview.' The paper does not publish criticism of the UAE's ruling families and practices selective editorial restraint on issues sensitive to the government. Its editor has pushed back on characterizations of it as a government mouthpiece, arguing editorial decisions are made internally. The National operates as a digital-first outlet with a print edition and reaches a global English-speaking audience, particularly in the Gulf region. Under the Trump administration's second term, UAE-U.S. ties have been strong — marked by Trump's May 2025 state visit and over $200 billion in announced commercial deals — and The National's opinion coverage has reflected the two governments' cooperative relationship without taking strong positions on U.S. domestic political debates.

Sources

  1. The National (Abu Dhabi) – Wikipedia
  2. The National (UAE) – Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. Editor of The National: 'Disservice' to say we are UAE mouthpiece – Press Gazette
  4. International Media Investments acquires ownership of The National
  5. Man City owner buys The National newspaper – Arab News
  6. Trump hails growing ties with UAE on last leg of Gulf tour – Al Jazeera
  7. International Media Investments (IMI) – State Media Monitor

Profile compiled 2026-07-22; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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