The video correctly describes Khashoggi’s killing and some fallout, but it also adds unsupported theories about his background and why he was targeted.
Claim-by-claim breakdown
Accurate (98% confidence): Jamal Khashoggi was a Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of the Saudi government. Khashoggi wrote columns for The Washington Post and was widely described as a Saudi journalist and critic of the government.
Accurate (90% confidence): Khashoggi previously worked as a media adviser to Prince Turki bin Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence. Sources describe Khashoggi as having served as a media adviser to Prince Turki bin Faisal, who led Saudi intelligence and later served as ambassador.
Unsupported (84% confidence): Khashoggi was killed because he was a former high-level intelligence insider who could dismantle the crown prince's global agenda. Official and journalistic accounts do not establish that he was killed because he was an intelligence insider capable of undermining MBS’s global agenda.
Accurate (96% confidence): On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi went into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork related to his marriage and never came out. Reporting says he entered the consulate to obtain documents needed for his marriage and disappeared there on October 2, 2018.
Accurate (97% confidence): Saudi agents killed Khashoggi in the consulate, dismembered his body, and Turkish officials had audio recordings of the killing. Multiple reports and official assessments conclude Saudi agents killed Khashoggi in the consulate; Turkish authorities said they had audio evidence from the incident.
Accurate (78% confidence): The video implies that Turkey slowly leaked audio transcripts to the press and that the killing led to major international fallout, including U.S. congressional pressure on arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Turkey and media outlets shared details about recordings, and Congress pushed back on Saudi arms sales, but claims like 'collapsed,' 'completely isolated,' and 'froze billions' are exaggerated.
Accurate (96% confidence): In 2022, President Biden visited Jeddah and gave Mohammed bin Salman a fist bump as the U.S. sought more Saudi oil during the Russia-Ukraine energy shock. Reuters reported Biden’s fist bump with MBS in July 2022 during a trip aimed in part at energy security amid the Ukraine-related oil shock.