After Khashoggi’s killing, Saudi Arabia tightens grip on media and public discourse. Plus, South Korea’s ‘Defector TV’.
On this episode of The Listening Post: More than a month after Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, control on media and public discourse in Saudi Arabia continues to tighten. Plus, ‘defector TV’ in South Korea. Saudi Arabia post-Khashoggi
It’s been almost six weeks since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Riyadh reaffirmed this past week that it was a rogue operation, but its story keeps changing. And news has surfaced of another Saudi journalist, Turki bin Abdulaziz al-Jasser, who was arrested eight months ago, and was allegedly tortured to death while in detention.
Al-Jasser ran what he thought was an anonymous account on Twitter, a platform that used to be a proxy public square for Saudis, but where an army of trolls has poisoned debate, harasses dissidents and spreads misinformation.
The mastermind of that campaign was Saud al-Qahtani, who worked behind the scenes as an enforcer for Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman .
As his boss conducted a charm offensive on the western media, al-Qahtani ensured journalists back home toed the line and critics stayed quiet. He was reportedly fired over his role in the Khashoggi killing, but the chilling effect of his work remains.
