Orders for Saudi media to soften tone on “normalization” and “Israel”

Riyadh (QNN)- Journalists, who work for major Saudi media organizations, told the Washington Post that they have been ordered to change their tone regarding the issues of normalization and ‘Israel’ to portray the normalization trend favorably.
A person who works with one of Saudi Arabia’s largest media organizations and spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution told the Washinton Post that “We’re not even pretending to be unbiased.”
He added that any story idea critical of the normalization process is to be weeded out, “and we’re very good at self-censorship”, he added.
“We’re not allowed to say anything negative about the UAE-Israel normalization deals.”
The employee added that at times senior management has approved articles for publication only to have a new edict come down, apparently from someone above them, directing that the story be removed from the website or moved to an obscure location.
“The line has to be more calculated: We are pro UAE-Israel deal, but we’re still not quite pro-Israel. Every day it’s kind of like a guessing game of what’s going to be allowed, what’s not going to be allowed,” the employee added.
The Washington Post said the new tone of Saudi media is offering clues to whether the kingdom might follow suit.
It added that although it has not commented officially on any plans to normalize ties with the occupation state, Saudi Arabia pushed Saudi journalists to write praising the normalization and harshly criticizing Palestinians.