Houthi attack on Saudi airport kills one; US orders some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia

A Houthi attack on King Fahd airport in Dammam killed one person and injured eight, and two died after a drone was intercepted near the Shaybah oilfield. The US ordered non-emergency diplomats and families to leave Saudi Arabia, and oil prices rose.

L 48%C 19%R 33%

L 48% · C 19% · R 33% · 27 outlets

Left 2 · Centre-left 11 · Centre 5 · Centre-right 4 · Right 5

Sources by lean Follow the money More coverage

How each side framed it

Left-leaning outlets

Escalation and risk: US orders staff out as Houthi attacks escalate (Guardian, CNN, DW), and links to reported Iran strike planning (CNBC).

Centre outlets

Centre-rated outlets headline it: “US orders some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks escalate” (BBC News); “US orders some personnel to leave Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks” (Financial Times).

Right-leaning outlets

Iran's proxies on the attack: 'kingdom comes under Houthi fire' (Fox), 'one killed, eight injured' (GB News), CBS asks why Saudi Arabia 'can't stop deadly attacks by Iran's Houthi allies'.

Holding the paradox

Agreed facts

One person was killed and eight injured in an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Two people died from falling debris after a drone aimed at the Shaybah oilfield was intercepted. The US State Department ordered non-emergency staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia. Oil prices rose.

Where claims conflict

Scope of the US withdrawal: most outlets say 'some diplomats', while Times of Israel and France 24 report 'all embassy staff and families'. Who escalated: the Morning Star says Saudi Arabia reignited Yemen's war by striking Sanaa airport in July; Saudi and US statements frame the Houthis as the aggressors.

The paradox

Yemen's war is old, but it is now news in the West mainly because it threatens oil, airports and US diplomats. The civilians in besieged Taiz get far less coverage than the airport in Dammam.

Sources by lean

Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.

Showing 3 from each side of 27 rated outlets (L 13 / C 5 / R 9). More coverage

Follow the money

Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.

Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (28 outlets)

Outlet	Lean	Ownership & funding (MBFC)
Haaretz	Left	According to the Financial Times, Haaretz does not report its earnings. They were also the first Israeli paper to introduce the paywall. For subscription fees, please see here. source
Morning Star	Left	The Morning Star is owned by the People’s Press Printing Society, a cooperative that readers can join. Revenue is derived through subscription fees, advertising, print sales, and donations. source
Al Jazeera	Centre-left	Al Jazeera is owned and funded by the state of Qatar. The founder and Chairman of the Board is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, the House of Thani. According to a Fortune article, i n 2016, state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera laid off 500 workers due to Qatar’s financial troubles resulting from low global prices for oil and natural gas. source
Associated Press	Centre-left	The Associated Press (AP) is a nonprofit news cooperative with a profit of $1.6 million in 2016. It also sells content to other media organizations. According to an article titled “ AP reports loss on one-time accounting charges,” t he Associated Press lost $74 million in 2017, and it states the reason as “mostly due to one-time accounting charges related to the federal tax overhaul passed late last year.” source
Bloomberg	Centre-left	Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (The parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. source
CNBC	Centre-left	CNBC is owned by NBC Universal, which Comcast owns. Comcast’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Brian L. Roberts, founded by his father, Ralph J. source
CNN	Centre-left	No ownership data found
Deutsche Welle	Centre-left	The German government funds Deutsche Welle (DW). They state, “DW is financed via funding from the state – i.e., from tax revenue. This is in contrast to the domestic public channels, which are funded via broadcasting fees.” source
The Guardian	Centre-left	The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source
The Independent	Centre-left	The Independent is owned by Independent Print Limited, a company owned by the Lebedev family (Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev). In 2017, Saudi Businessman Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in the Independent online newspaper. Advertising and subscription generate revenue for the paper..push({}); source
Times of Israel	Centre-left	The Times of Israel is co-owned by David Horovitz and Seth Klarman. Revenue is generated through advertising..push({}); source
Washington Post	Centre-left	In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million. Bezos is a frequent target of Trump, who has accused the businessman of using the Postal System as its “ Delivery Boy. ” The newspaper’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, is not involved in its news coverage. source
Ynet News	Centre-left	Yedioth Ahronoth owns Ynetnews. Advertising derives revenue. source
BBC News	Centre	The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source
Financial Times	Centre	The Financial Times is owned by The Nikkei, a Japanese news and financial information company that publishes the leading financial paper, The Nikkei. The FT generates revenue through subscriptions, a hard paywall, and advertising..push({}); source
France 24	Centre	France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source
Reuters	Centre	In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source
The Hill	Centre	In 2021, The Hill was purchased by Nexstar, which owns around 200 TV stations and media outlets nationwide. The founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar is Perry A. Sook. source
CBS News	Centre-right	CBS News is owned by Paramount Global, which was formerly controlled by National Amusements, Inc., the holding company of the Redstone family. In 2025, Paramount entered into a merger agreement with Skydance Media, effectively ending the Redstones’ majority control. CBS News generates revenue primarily through advertising and affiliate broadcasting fees..push({}); source
ITV News	Centre-right	No ownership data found
Jerusalem Post	Centre-right	In 1989, the paper was purchased by Hollinger Inc. for $17-million, which Canadian-born British Conservative Conrad Black owned. Conrad Black later was charged with “swindling his company, Hollinger International, of $60 million.” He was serving a prison sentence; however, in 2019, President Donald Trump pardoned him. source
The Times	Centre-right	The Times and Sunday Times is owned by News UK (News Corp UK & Ireland Limited), which American News Corp owns. The owner and Executive Chairman of News Corp are Rupert Murdoch. Revenue is derived from advertising and subscription fees. source
Breitbart	Right	After the death of Andrew Breitbart in 2012, Larry Solov became CEO and president of Breitbart News. In 2017, according to Politico, Larry Solov revealed the owner of Breitbart as “himself, founder Andrew Breitbart’s widow, Susie Breitbart, and the Republican mega-donor family, the Mercers.” Further, Solov also stated that he wants “to disclose as little as possible about financial and ownership structure.” source
Fox News	Right	Rupert Murdoch is the owner and a board member of News Corp 21st Century Fox. According to Reuters, James Murdoch (son) was chief executive of 21st Century Fox and left in May 2018. L achlan (the other son of Murdoch) and Rupert Murdoch will serve as the new Fox co-chairman. source
GB News	Right	GB News lacks transparency as they do not disclose ownership. A search reveals that London-based ALL Perspectives Ltd owns GB News. According to Reuters, the television channel “secured millions of dollars from investors such as Discovery Inc, Legatum and hedge fund manager Paul Marshall. source
Newsmax	Right	Newsmax is owned by publicly traded Newsmax Inc., which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NMAX on March 31, 2025. The company completed a $75 million public offering after previously raising approximately $225 million through a preferred-stock offering. source
The Sun	Right	The Sun is published by the News Group Newspapers division of News UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The paper generates revenue through advertising, newsstand sales, and subscriptions. source
City A.M.	Not rated	No ownership data found