Fake news or chilling message? Journalist’s disappearance divides Saudis

Some Saudis are treating Turkish allegations that prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in their country’s consulate in Istanbul as fake news. Others see the alleged murder of Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as a chilling message for opponents of the Saudi government and a sign that the crown prince’s much heralded reforms are unlikely to embrace real freedom of expression. Khashoggi, a high-profile commentator on the Middle East, entered the consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to obtain marriage documents.