Twitter reacts to #SaudiCables

Twitter reacts to #SaudiCables
Blog: On Saturday, 60,000 Saudi diplomatic cables were released by WikiLeaks, and Twitter reaction did not disappoint.
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2 min read
The New Arab Staff

Imogen Lambert

22 Jun, 2015
Twitter users are helping researchers find revelations in the 60,000 leaked cables [AFP]
WikiLeaks has released 60,000 Saudi diplomatic cables that had been leaked to the information-sharing website, with promises that more are to come over the next month.

Although there are many cables that show the mundane working of embassies, many more document or confirm corruption, bribery and cover-ups by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  

Official Saudi Twitter accounts have reportedly now issued threats against users in the country.


Although there are many revelations in the cables, covering Riyadh's financing of media operations, to an Egyptian plot to assassinate the South Sudanese president, many of the region's Twitterati criticised the media for being slow to cover the news.

Others, meanwhile, thought that such criticism was a little overblown.

When the media widely covered the cables on Monday, Twitterers were still unimpressed.


There were also some concerns over the privacy of those mentioned in the documents.


Many, meanwhile, felt that everyone was getting over-excited about "revelations" that were already well-known.


Some felt that the cables were politicised, and felt that WikiLeaks should also target Iran, Saudi Arabia's arch-rival in the region.

There were fine examples of citizen journalism, with many of the disclosures in the cables found by social media users before being reported by journalists.

Finally, some users thought that WikiLeaks had missed a trick.

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