Karen Attiah

A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

I hired and worked with Jamal for a year.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...

CIA concludes Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination

Audio recordings, intercepted phone calls and other intelligence link Mohammed bin Salman to killing that Saudis say was conducted by rogue elements.

For the record.

My posts were not even about Kirk directly, but about America's apathy towards political violence, and the coddling of white male shooters and hate peddlers.

I was fired because I mentioned race: white men and violence-- that was my "gross misconduct."

I will never forget having to edit Jamal’s final, posthumous piece for the Washington Post, after he was murdered.

He was calling for free expression in the Arab world. You can read it here :

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/glo...

Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression

The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events.

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama.

His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful.

Now he is tweeting in support of me.

This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*.

Or used to work.

For everyone saying political violence has no place in this country…

Remember two Democratic legislators were shot in Minnesota just this year.

And America shrugged and moved on.

“Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person’s slot”.

-Charlie Kirk

“It's hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.
If I say I am Christian, but do these things, I'm a hypocrite."

-Pope Francis

Washington Post dismantled the platform Jamal wrote on. Discarded the fellowship they created in his memory.

They fired me unjustly for speaking the truth.

But I’ll never stop talking about my friend, writer, and amazing human, Jamal Khashoggi.

RIP, Jamal.

open.substack.com/pub/karenatt...

Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post, and the Cost of Speaking Out

As Saudi Arabia hosts comedians and courts gamers, the silenced voice of Jamal Khashoggi still echoes.

I think a lot about this quote from Anaïs Nin’s diary from 1939-1944:

“America is in even greater danger because of its cult of toughness, its hatred of sensitivity, and someday it may have to pay a price for this, because atrophy of feeling creates criminals”.

My latest.

As journalists and writers, we have a duty to use language that is accurate and describes our current reality.

I’m no longer going to talk about DEI/Anti-DEI.

Let’s be clear. We are facing racial purges and re-segregation.

www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | The assault on DEI? It’s aimed at resegregation.

The GOP leaders attacking inclusion programs want to go back to an era when White men ran everything

The U.S. is giving dying mall vibes.

I can't explain it, but you know I'm right.

So.. officially, I'm the last Black staff columnist left in the Washington Post's opinion section.

I gave my heart and soul to that place. Built entire sections for journalists pushed out of their home countries.

When the writer I hired, Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by Saudi Arabia, they paraded me around as a symbol for press freedom.

I put MY LIFE on the line to defend journalism and WaPo.

@bmazing.bsky.social

weird that neither of these articles two main stories decrying censorship mention WaPo's firing of @karenattiah.bsky.social I guess democracy really does die in darkness

I actually wish the media would stop using "DEI" and "diversity hiring" and just get to the essence of the thing and ask:

"Are you saying that this crash was caused by desegregating the races?"

And see what happens.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

REPORTER: Are you saying this crash was somehow was the result of diversity hiring? TRUMP: It just could have been

▶

As a former gamer, I cannot overstate how big of a deal this right-wing takeover of Electronic Arts is.

Are they going to create video games where they kidnap and dismember journalists like Jamal Khashoggi?

I used to write the WaPo editorials on US-Africa policy, as well on as human rights and politics on the continent.

To describe hundreds of thousands of deaths on the continent as “messy” is an absolute abomination.

Carly Goodman @carlygoodman.bsky.social

Extremely evil/cursed take from the WaPo this morning

Over the course of my career, @joyannreid.bsky.social has been one of the few to give me and so many other Black voices consistent airtime.

In a time in which Black women’s voices are needed now more than ever— This cancellation hurts, but the bounce back will be impeccable. We got you, Joy.

Yes I will be fighting back against the unjust firing by @washingtonpost.com.

I have filed a grievance and will be represented by none other than the amazing @katiephang.bsky.social and an incredible legal team.

Journalistic freedom is a bedrock of a healthy society and is worth battling for.

Today, Oct.2nd, is the anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder by Saudi agents.

So Harvard is keeping this guy, but Claudine Gay had to step down over ginned up plagiarism accusations and bad-faith accusations of anti-Semitism.

Got it.

Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social

Larry Summers tells @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.” He will continue teaching. www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

So uh... how exactly is America going to host the World Cup next year with all these travel and immigration restrictions?

I asked Liv, the Meta-Ai created “queer momma” why her creators didn’t actually draw from black queer people.

Not sure if Liv has media training, but here we are.

The Trump regime's segregationist agenda is clear.

I argue that having a Black man as president of white America enraged a portion of this country so much, that they decided to destroy any pipeline to Black advancement in academia, government, & workplaces.

karenattiah.substack.com/p/trumps-seg...

Trump's segregationist agenda is a reaction to Obama

And we need to talk about it.

Reply to @karenattiah.bsky.social

And yes, I was the last Black full-time columnist in the Opinion section.

Washington Post -- operating in a city which for a long time has been majority Black, is now without any full-time Black opinion writers.