CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia's financial clout among the Arab media has given it an influential tool as it grapples with the international outcry over the death of Saudi writer and dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
From the time Khashoggi vanished into the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, newspapers and television stations across the region allied with Riyadh have echoed the Saudi denial of any knowledge of his fate. Or they weaved alternative scenarios of an alleged plot by top Saudi rivals, Qatar and Turkey.
After more than two weeks of international pressure, the kingdom last weekend acknowledged Khashoggi's death, claiming he was killed by accident in an interrogation gone awry, and promised to punish those responsible.
The loyal media immediately switched gears to praise the kingdom's sense of justice.
