BEIRUT—A financially troubled Lebanese TV network received a $2 million Saudi bailout in return for adopting a pro-Riyadh editorial policy. A news agency in Guinea got a $2,000 gift, while small publications across the Arab world received tens of thousands of dollars in inflated subscription fees.
That’s the picture that has emerged from Saudi diplomatic correspondence published by the WikiLeaks group, backing long-held suspicions the kingdom uses its oil wealth to buy influence with media and research centers across the Muslim world.
The leaked cables suggest an effort by the U.S. ally to dampen criticism, varnish its image, and strengthen allies in an Arab world torn by religious militancy and sectarian tensions.
Many of the cables were linked to the growing rivalry between Sunni Saudi Arabia and mostly Shiite Iran over influence in the region and point to Lebanon, an ethnically and religiously diverse nation with a vibrant press, as a key battlefield in the battle of wills between Riyadh and Tehran.
“This is not specific to Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia took it to a very high level,” said Jad Melki, director of the Media Studies Program at the American University of Beirut.
The authenticity of the cables could not be verified by The Associated Press, and the Saudi government cautioned local media against publishing the diplomatic correspondence. But it did not say they were forged.
