The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), officially known as the Middle East Media and Research Institute, is a Washington, D.C.-based American 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization founded in 1998. It was established by Yigal Carmon, a former Israeli intelligence officer, and Meyrav Wurmser, an Israeli-American political analyst. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices in Jerusalem, London, Tokyo, and Berlin, MEMRI specializes in monitoring, translating, and analyzing media content from the Middle East, South Asia, and related regions, including Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, Dari, Russian, and Chinese sources. The organization aims to bridge the language gap by providing English translations and analyses of selected reports, speeches, articles, and other media, highlighting political, social, cultural, and religious trends, with a focus on content portraying anti-Western, antisemitic, extremist sentiments, terrorism, and regional politics. Its work includes original analysis and special reports on topics such as jihadism, Iranian politics, Islamist movements, women's rights, and global jihad. MEMRI disseminates its findings through reports, clips, and archives, serving journalists, policymakers, academics, and the public to inform debates on U.S. policy in the Middle East and counter-terrorism efforts.

A key project is MEMRI TV, a digital platform launched as an extension of the institute's core mission. MEMRI TV provides English-subtitled videos of television broadcasts, interviews, speeches, and other audiovisual materials originally aired in languages such as Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu-Pashto, with a particular focus on Arabic-language television to expose extremist content. The platform aims to make unfiltered Middle Eastern perspectives accessible to English-speaking audiences, amassing a vast and regularly updated archive of video clips accessible via memritv.org. It emphasizes accuracy in subtitling and contextualizes videos with metadata on sources, dates, and speakers. MEMRI TV operates alongside MEMRI's print and online reports, serving as a primary source for raw footage that informs analytical dispatches, and is used by academic institutions, government agencies, and media outlets for research and verification.

MEMRI operates as an independent, nonpartisan entity but has been funded by conservative foundations and donors including the Middle East Forum (MEF), the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Randolph Foundation, the Adelson family, Richard Mellon Scaife, and the Sarah Scaife Foundation. It has ties to influential figures in U.S. and Israeli policy circles and is often associated with pro-Israel advocacy. The organization has been described as having a neoconservative perspective and close ties to Israeli intelligence circles, with allegations of such ties persisting due to Carmon's background, though MEMRI denies any current operational links. It has faced significant criticism for alleged bias in its selections and translations, with detractors accusing it of selectively highlighting extremist or anti-Western content to portray Arab and Muslim societies negatively, promote a pro-Israel, neoconservative agenda, and stoke anti-Arab narratives, while downplaying or ignoring moderate or contextualizing voices. MEMRI TV has similarly been criticized for selective translation practices. Organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), and scholars such as Edward Said have condemned MEMRI, labeling it as part of networks promoting anti-Muslim narratives and Islamophobia. In 2003, journalist John Lloyd defended MEMRI against claims of distortion. Despite these controversies, MEMRI maintains that its work is objective and essential for understanding radical ideologies, including those from terrorist groups and authoritarian regimes, and counters that it is a vital bridge for countering misinformation. Supporters praise it, and MEMRI TV specifically, for exposing underreported viewpoints and promoting transparency in global media.

MEMRI's influence extends through partnerships with news outlets and academic institutions, and its outputs are widely cited in U.S. media, government reports, and congressional hearings, making its translations a key resource in Western discourse on Middle Eastern affairs and contributing to debates on counterterrorism and Middle East policy. No major legal actions against MEMRI are documented, but its role in influence networks, particularly conservative and pro-Israel circles, underscores its position in shaping public and policy narratives. Ongoing allegations of selective reporting and methodological flaws continue to fuel discussions about media bias in international affairs.