KIND founder and “Shark Tank” investor Daniel Lubetzky is accusing the CEO of left-leaning news outlet Semafor of accepting what he called a “bribe” from the government of Qatar, and of rewarding the Gulf state with favorable coverage ever since.
In a video posted to X on Wednesday, Lubetzky recounted a conversation he said he had years ago with Semafor CEO and co-founder Justin B. Smith, who he said approached him in an apparent bid to land him as an investor.
According to Lubetzky, Smith described receiving millions of dollars from Qatar for journalism training that cost the outlet roughly $50,000 to deliver. Lubetzky acknowledged he could not recall the exact figures.
He said he told Smith at the time that the arrangement made no sense and that Qatar was “bribing” the company.
“Nobody would pay off-market 20x, 100x,” Lubetzky said. “This is a bribe.”
Lubetzky said Smith brushed off the concern, but that his worries only grew as he watched Semafor’s reporting on Qatar over the following years, which he described as biased in favor of the country’s government.
He singled out an article published Monday by Semafor Gulf editor Mohammed Sergie, which argued that longstanding accusations of Qatari terror financing and foreign influence lack solid evidence. The piece questioned claims about Qatar’s ties to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran, while emphasizing the country’s role as a diplomatic mediator and U.S. defense partner. Lubetzky blasted the article as an apology campaign on Qatar’s behalf.
Commentator Eitan Fischberger, who helped circulate Lubetzky’s remarks, also criticized the piece, accusing Semafor of running friendly coverage of Qatar without adequately disclosing its financial ties to the country.
Lubetzky called the outlet’s alleged ties to Qatar “downright unethical” and urged an investigation into Qatar’s financial influence over American media and educational institutions.
Semafor’s relationship with Qatar is not new. When the outlet announced its expansion into the Middle East in July 2024, it named Invest Qatar as an inaugural launch partner alongside First Abu Dhabi Bank and tech firm G42. Semafor Gulf launched that September under Sergie’s leadership.
In December 2025, Semafor and Al-Monitor also led a three-day journalism workshop in Qatar hosted by Media City Qatar and the Qatar Leadership Centre, covering topics such as interviewing, fact-checking and conflict reporting. Public descriptions of the program do not disclose how much Semafor was paid.
Semafor, founded in 2022 by Smith and former BuzzFeed News editor-in-chief Ben Smith, relies heavily on an events business that brings together executives, investors and government officials.
A Semafor spokesperson defended the company’s journalism training programs and insisted its reporting is not influenced by commercial partners, but did not answer questions about who funded the workshops or how much the company received. The spokesperson separately said Semafor has never accepted investment from a government or sovereign wealth fund, but did not directly address Lubetzky’s claim about the training payments.
Lubetzky’s account has not been independently verified, and there is no confirmed evidence that Qatar influenced Semafor’s coverage.
The accusations come amid broader concerns over Qatar’s efforts to shape public opinion in the West through investments in media outlets, political organizations and American universities.
