[View the story "US gears for launch of Al Jazeera America" on Storify ]US gears for launch of Al Jazeera America Netizens use #CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitches to debate channel's purchase of Current TV. Storified by The Stream · Thu, Jan 03 2013 11:10:39
We are excited to announce a new U.S.-based news channel and the acquisition of @current TV. http://aje.me/S5JWw5 #AJEUSAl Jazeera English
You joined the #DemandAlJazeera campaign - now here it is: http://aljazeera.com/america Al Jazeera is coming to a cable channel near you. #AJEUSRiyaad Minty
I can't wait for this country to see what they've been missing - so proud to work at #AJEUSPatty Culhane
Netizens reacted quickly to the news and Al Jazeera soon trended worldwide on Twitter and
Google+ . Many discussed what it would mean for the channel and US media.
Four TV cable news channel screenshots, all live now, guess which ones are actual news+info http://pic.twitter.com/a5ZaKvRMRafat Ali
I wonder which companies will be the first to trigger national outrage by buying advertising space on Aljazeera America.Hend
The announcement prompted some light-hearted chatter on Twitter.
A timely & hilarious 2006 throwback: Samantha Bee tries to remake Al Jazeera English for an American audience: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-december-13-2006/al-jazeera-englishAzmat Khan
Al-Jazeera is buying Current TV. Al Gore will henceforth be known as Al Al-Gore http://nyti.ms/VvhxMeKarim Sadjadpour
Actually, Al Gore is Al Gore Jr, so in Arabic he's Al Gore Al Thani. (On Al-Jazeera buying Current TV)Karl Sharro
Others have been critical of the announcement, echoing negative stereotypes that observers have attributed to cable carriers' reluctance to broadcast the channel when it initially launched.
Couldn't ask for a better symbol of how extreme mainstream liberalism has become than Al Jazeera's purchase of CurrentDudeForRomney
The TV station founded by Al Gore is being bought by Al-Jazeera. So you can get radical anti-Americanism from the Islamic world & the left!Steven Badger
I wonder if Al Gore will get to continue his show on Al Jazeera dubbed in Arabic. He & the President can apologize to muslims 24/7.Tarheel Keith
Much of the discussion centered around the humorous hashtag #CurrentAlJazeeraShow pitches that imagined US shows in the style of stereotypes about Islam.
#CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitches Despot HousewivesJoseph D.
#currentaljazeerashowpitches Say Yes to the Dress that Covers Everything But Your EyesAngela
#CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitches I Dream of JihadDan Joseph
#CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitches "The Real Neglected Housewives of Riyadh"J. Harrel
Others, however, used the hashtag to defend the network.
A game show of idiots who compete to say the most ignorant pun on TV show names using anti-Muslim stereotypes. #CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitchesWilliam Youmans
Al-Jazeera Investigates: The fascinating correlation between the inability to spell properly and bigotry. #CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitchesBrooklyn Middleton
Listening to pro- and anti-#AlJazeera camps alternately praise & condemn this deal, it's clear neither has any idea what Al-Jazeera is/does.Syrian Scenes
Something more intelligent and interesting than anything on the sad major US networks. #CurrentAlJazeerashowpitchesDave Zirin
No seriously, @AJEnglish provides a great global perspective+I been readin it for 2hrs straight. Who knew? #CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitchesa strange bird
#AlJazeera is a legitimate news organization at times surpassing competing worldwide news agencies in accuracy. Stop the #Hating. #ALGOREaval
"Colin Powell told Al (Gore) that Al Jazeera is the only cable news network he watches" http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/01/02/al-jazeera-agrees-to-buy-current-tv-the-full-statement/Tom Gara
Al Jazeera itself used #CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitches to highlight existing English language content.
Want to watch real #CurrentAlJazeeraShowPitches? Our @YouTube channel has an archive our latest shows: http://aje.me/UJngB5 #AJEUSAl Jazeera English
And US correspondent Cath Turner added:
To opponents of Al Jazeera cable deal: watching the news is a consumer choice. You control your remote. Land of the free, remember?Cath Turner
