“CNBC” Network issued a report detailing the Saudi funding of a large digital news platform to beautify the image of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the US, to influence the White House decisions on Saudi Arabia.
MBS's reputation is linked to crimes, especially after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country's consulate in Istanbul.
Documents submitted to the US Department of Justice, under the Transparency Law, revealed the work of pressure groups, led by a local company called “ETS” of the “Saudi Company for Development and Technical Investment”, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, headed by MBS.
The documents revealed that the MBS’ government was seeking to influence the decisions of the US administration regarding the human rights file in Saudi Arabia, which is full of violations in Saudi and in Yemen as well, which caused the largest famine in recent years.
CNBC reports that the new news platform, funded by the Saudi Crown Prince, will have studios in Washington, and will be run by media cadres with extensive experience in the field of advertising, marketing, and news media, such as “Fox News”, “NBC” and Sirius XM and Qatar's Al Jazeera.
The report said that the establishment of the platform coincides with the appointment by Saudi Arabia of pressure groups and lobbies that influence the US public opinion, in order to influence the decision-making circle in Washington regarding the Saudi political and human rights file.
The documents also revealed that a company headed by Eli Nakouzi is charging at least $1.6 million in contributions to the establishment of the new Digital News Foundation of the Saudi Crown Prince to help direct the project, and the value of what was actually spent on purchasing equipment and setting up the studio was $75,000.
Nakouzi holds Lebanese citizenship and resides in the US, and he made an interview with President Bush while working for Al-Arabiya TV of Saudi Arabia during the war on Iraq and Afghanistan.
For whose Interest?
Experts and specialists speculated about the steps taken by the Saudi Crown Prince, in order to beautify his image abroad, which is famous for corruption and repression.
They wondered if it is in the interest of the people that the Saudi regime wastes their money on everything that serves the image of the Saudi Crown Prince while imposing taxes and increasing prices of life-essential products on his people?
