Algeria’s state-run news agency APS, along with other public media outlets, has come under renewed criticism after publishing claims that leading US and international media had praised the Gara Djebilet iron ore megaproject.
A closer review shows that no such articles exist, and the supposed quotations appear only in Algerian state-controlled outlets.
The APS report, issued on 30 January 2026, asserted that “major American media outlets and research centers” had hailed Gara Djebilet as a “rising global giant in the field of iron exploitation and production.”
Algerian state radio and television repeated the same storyline, attributing glowing assessments to Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Al-Monitor and the US Geological Survey, but without providing a single link, date, headline or verifiable reference.
A simple research on the websites of these international outlets reveal no trace of such reporting, showing that the praise was fabricated by Algerian media and recycled across state propaganda channels.
A pattern of fake news
This is not the first time APS has been caught publishing false information. In fact, the United Nations itself has repeatedly debunked fake news circulated by APS.
In October 2020, the UN publicly denied an APS report claiming that Morocco had “failed” in a supposed bid to join the UN Human Rights Council. The UN clarified that Morocco was not even a candidate, directly contradicting APS’ narrative. North Africa Post reported back then that this episode was “another blow to the official news outlet, known for circulating ‘fake news’ on sensitive topics.”
Only a month earlier, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had condemned another APS story as a “complete fabrication from start to finish,” after APS falsely claimed that the UN Dispute Tribunal had thrown out a complaint by Algerian activists in 24 hours.
According to OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville, the APS article, circulated widely by Algerian outlets, was “false information” and entirely invented.
