Teen Vogue scrubbed an article sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government’s Tourism Authority from its site on Thursday, reportedly claiming it was posted in “error.”
Amazing: Currently featured on the Teen Vogue landing page is sponsored content for Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/Kr6ZroOveY
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) March 9, 2021
The article, which first appeared on the Teen Vogue webpage on Monday, paints Saudi Arabia as a unique travel destination filled with cultural, religious, and historical roots as well as entertainment and chances to learn more about the Saudi way of life. With a headline promoting “Why Saudi Should Land on Every Culture Lover’s Radar,” the piece also promises a COVID-safe travel experience, saying with “various testing and tracking apps, citizens and visitors alike can have peace of mind (free healthcare, too, for COVID-related matters).”
“As Saudi continues to invest in sharing its prized cultural identity, there’s no better time than now to experience the coalescence of Arabia’s past, present, and future,” the article concludes.
While the article appears to have been removed from the Teen Vogue website, it is still featured on the magazine’s parent company’s travel website, Condé Nast, which did not respond to The Federalist’s questions or request for comment.
The article’s appearance on both the Teen Vogue and Condé Nast websites comes shortly after a U.S. Intelligence report showed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Saudi Arabia denied the report, saying it was “negative, false and unacceptable.”
The publication of the article also resembles the corporate media’s complicity in allowing foreign governments a voice in their papers, such as the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece buying Washington Post advertising spots to push propaganda, as well as suspiciously favorable opinion articles featured in the New York Times.
Teen Vogue also came under fire recently after it was discovered that the magazine’s newest editor-in-chief, Alexi McCammond, posted racially insensitive material on her Twitter page years ago. Shortly after multiple Teen Vogue staffers sent a letter complaining to Condé Nast about the tweets, McCammond issued an apology statement promising to “advocate for a more diverse and equitable world.”
“Those tweets aren’t who I am, but I understand that I have lost some of your trust, and will work doubly hard to earn it back,” she said.
McCammond previously worked at Axios, where she received backlash for covering the Biden administration while dating then-deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo.
