[3] In parallel with his international public relations work, Karoui expanded his domestic business, creating subsidiaries around audiovisual production, digital media, urban advertising and a record label.

[5] As a supporter of the Arab Maghreb Union, Karoui wanted to use the television channel to demonstrate the feasibility of a Pan-Maghreb movement by focusing on cultural similarities.

[9] On 30 December 2010, during the beginning of the Tunisian Revolution, the government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali muzzled the media from reporting on the unrest.

[16] Nabil Karoui, the owner of Nessma TV, faced trial in Tunis on charges of "violating sacred values" and "disturbing the public order."

[19] Karoui has been praised by some for organizing a meeting in Paris[20] between Rached Ghannouchi and Beji Caid Essebsi, surprising observers and lowering tension between Islamist and secularist supporters in the country.

In less than two years, Nidaa Tounes became one of the largest political parties in the country, winning the 2014 Tunisian parliamentary election.

[26] In 2017, Karoui started charitably distributing staple goods in poorer areas of the country, earning him the nickname "Nabil Macaroni."

In June 2019, Karoui announced his candidacy for the 2019 Tunisian presidential election, quickly pulling ahead of his opponents in opinion polling.

[29] On 25 June, members of Nidaa Tounes and Popular Front filed a motion in Parliament calling the move unconstitutional.

[29] That same day, Karoui founded a new party called "Heart of Tunisia" (Au cœur de la Tunisie/Qalb Tounes).

[36] Additionally, Karoui's links to the Algerian military and Libyan Islamist Abdelhakim Belhaj have been called into question.

The Tunis Afrique Presse state news agency said Karoui was to face charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

[44] On 29 August 2021, Algerian authorities arrested Nabil Karoui along with his brother Ghazi in Tébessa, near the Algeria–Tunisia border, after he had illegally entered the country.