Thousands of Twitter users in Saudi Arabia have pushed for the boycott of Amazon.com and its regional subsidiary to slam the Washington Post for covering the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi; the Washington Post is owned by Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos.
The Boycott Amazon and Souq.com online campaign was launched by Saudi social media users over what they see as the newspaper's biased coverage of the death of Khashoggi, who worked as a contributor for the Washington Post.
READ MORE: Sons of Journalist Khashoggi Call on Saudi Authorities to Return Father's Body
"Let's defend our nation […] boycott Amazon to send a message to its owner so he is aware of the scale of the damage," Saudi journalist Bandar Otyf tweeted, adding that the Washington Post "consistently publishes articles that are defaming."
"It became clear before our eyes that this is an organized media war. As Twitter users and activists and citizens, we don't have power abroad, but we have simple things like boycotting. […] If we affect even a portion of their business, we're satisfied," Otyf underscored.
The campaign came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pointed out in his op-ed in the Washington Post last Friday that Saudi Arabia has yet to answer a whole array of questions pertaining to Khashoggi's killing.
READ MORE: Erdogan Urges Saudi Top Prosecutor to Reveal Who Ordered Khashoggi Murder
"Where is Khashoggi's body? Who is the 'local collaborator' to whom Saudi officials claimed to have handed over Khashoggi's remains? Who gave the order to kill this kind soul? Unfortunately, the Saudi authorities have refused to answer those questions," Erdogan wrote.
He argued that the order to kill the journalist "came from the highest levels of the Saudi government." At the same time, Erdogan emphasized that he does not believe "for a second that King Salman, the custodian of the holy mosques, ordered the hit on Khashoggi."
The Washington Post has repeatedly underlined the lack of accountability concerning suspected perpetrators of Khashoggi's death.
READ MORE: Police Search Istanbul Sewage Near Saudi Consulate Over Khashoggi Case — Reports
On October 2, Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had arrived to obtain necessary papers for his upcoming wedding.
Turkey, which conducts a separate investigation into the matter, claims that Khashoggi was assassinated by a hit squad sent from Saudi Arabia specifically for the task.
Turkish public prosecutor Irfan Fidan suggested that Khashoggi was "strangled as soon as he entered the consulate" in sync with "premeditated plans" and that his body was "subsequently destroyed by being dismembered, once again confirming the planning of the murder."
