No, Saudi TV Did Not Blur Out Images of Michelle Obama
A short video clip has been circulating online Tuesday that purports to show Saudi Arabia’s state television station blurring out the image of First Lady Michelle Obama as she and President Barack Obama met the new Saudi King during a visit to that country this week. But according to reporters who were on the ground as well as the information director at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, that was not the case.
“Saudi TV has been showing the total arrival ceremony at the airport and at the Palace and nowhere is anything blurred,” Nail al-Jubeir told Bloomberg View’s Josh Rogin in an emailed statement.
Additionally, CNN’s Hala Gorani said her colleague Nic Robertson saw the first lady’s non-blurred image on Saudi TV himself:
Our Nic Robertson in Riyadh telling me footage he saw on Saudi TV did not show a blurred Michelle Obama. On that note, Good night Twitter!
— Hala Gorani (@HalaGorani) January 27, 2015
The Wall Street Journal’s Ahmed Al Omran confirmed the same:
Michelle Obama’s blurry video is not real. The arrival was broadcast in full on state television without any blurring. @Max_Fisher
— Ahmed Al Omran (@ahmed) January 27, 2015
As you can see from the un-blurred photo below, Michelle Obama declined to wear the traditional Muslim head scarf that is mandatory for all Saudi women but not required for visiting foreigners. However, she was not permitted to shake the new King Salman’s hand:
Michelle Obama forgoes a headscarf and sparks a backlash in Saudi Arabia http://t.co/uycgVygf7V pic.twitter.com/6ICNigFaPT
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 27, 2015
Watch video below, via YouTube:
[Photo via screengrab]
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