The ongoing siege of Qatar, initiated by four neighbouring countries in June, 2017, has not been able to break Qatar’s spirit.

Blockading countries have intensified their efforts to defame Qatar using false news and propaganda fare.

The latest news to emerge is that a Dubai-based company hired a public relations executive to produce propaganda films defaming Qatar, according to a report by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism.

According to the report in the website, Charles Andreae, the owner of Andreae and Associates, was paid $500,000 by UAE-based Lapis Communications to produce a six-part film linking Qatar with ‘global terrorism.’

The documentary, titled ‘Qatar: A Dangerous Alliance’ and which the London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism describes as ‘slickly produced,’ features speakers from a host of conservative organisations discussing the country’s alleged role in supporting extremist groups, reported Al Jazeera.

Copies of the film are said to have been distributed at an event organised by Hudson Institute, a US-based think-tank, last October, according to The Middle East Monitor.

US President Donald Trump’s former Chief Strategist Steven Bannon was among the keynote speakers at that event. Also present were former Defence Secretary Leon Panetta and General David Petraeus, the former CIA director.

Andreae’s previous roles include overseeing a $500m contract with the Pentagon during the Iraq war while working for his former employer, Bell Pottinger, a British public relations firm.

“The Iraq programme included news reports made to look like they were produced by Arab media channels and fake Al Qaeda videos used to track the viewers. The Bell Pottinger ‘psyops’ team reported to General Petraeus, who led American forces in Iraq,” the report said.

The contract with Lapis, which dates back to 2017, only came to be known in a recently filed declaration to the US justice department. US law requires that all US companies disclose lobbying and PR contracts with foreign clients.