Independent Arabia supporting Saudi, failed professionality test

One month after it launched, Independent Arabia has failed the professionality and neutrality test, Al-Khaleej Online reported yesterday.

The famous British newspaper announced on 19 July 2018 that it had agreed with the Saudi Group for Researches and Marketing (SRMG) to launch four editions of the paper, in Arabic, Turkish, Persian and Urdu.

Zach Leonard, managing director at the Independent, said that the new deal would enable the newspaper to better and easily reach its audience in the Middle East.

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SRMG owns several other media projects, including Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Arab News, Sayidaty magazine and many other platforms published in several languages.

However, during the past month, the content of the Arabic copy of the Independent appeared far from the values of the liberal journalism, but it adopted the controversial political agendas of Saudi rulers, mainly those against Qatar and Turkey, Al-Khaleej Online said.

For example, the newspaper did not report Qatar’s victory in the Asian football tournament. The same has done the mass media in the other countries, which boycott Qatar.

In a recent interview, the former Chief of the Saudi Intelligence Service Prince Bandar Bin Sultan launched a fierce attack on Qatar.