Skip to content

Military & SecurityBreaking

Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh damaged in attack on Sunday

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 6 outlets across the spectrum.

6 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Striped skyscraper bearing Aramco logos, with palm fronds in the foreground under a grey sky.
Image via The New York TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

A Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District was damaged on Sunday, according to the New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg, the Financial Times and Just the News. The Saudi authorities said no one was injured and that falling shrapnel from intercepted missiles caused the damage. Just the News reports that two ballistic and two cruise missiles were intercepted. CNN, citing witnesses and geolocated video, reports that a missile struck the upper floors and that Saudi Civil Defense issued an early-warning alert beforehand. The Houthis, who have fired missiles and drones at targets across Saudi Arabia over the past three months, have not claimed responsibility, CNN reports. Bloomberg describes the attack as a fresh escalation in the kingdom’s conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District was damaged on Sunday.

    Reported byLeft3Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, CNN, Bloomberg
    Center
    Financial Times
    Far Right
    Just the News

  2. The Saudi authorities said no one was injured.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Far Right
    Just the News

  3. The Saudi authorities said falling shrapnel from intercepted missiles caused the damage.

    Reported byLeft1Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times
    Center
    Financial Times
    Far Right
    Just the News

  4. CNN, citing witnesses and geolocated video, reports that a missile struck the upper floors of the building.

    One outletCNN· Left

  5. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack, CNN reports.

    One outletCNN· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Questions the coverage answers differently, and who says what.

  • Was the building struck by a missile itself?

    The Saudi authorities, the New York Times, the Financial Times and Just the News attribute the damage to falling shrapnel or debris from intercepted missiles. CNN, citing witnesses and geolocated video, reports that a missile struck the upper floors.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that a Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh was damaged on Sunday and that no one was injured. The left and center headlines name the Houthis, while the right-side headline centers on intercepted missiles and falling debris.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    Two left-side headlines name the Houthis as the attackers, while CNN leads with witness accounts of a missile striking the building.

    Saudi Aramco Tower Damaged as Yemen’s Houthis Attack Riyadh
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    The Financial Times frames the damage as part of the latest Houthi strikes and describes the building as an office hit by shrapnel.

    Saudi Aramco office in Riyadh damaged in latest Houthi strikes
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    Just the News, the only right-side outlet in this coverage, leads with the intercepted missiles and debris rather than the Houthis or a missile strike.

    Missile interceptions damage Saudi Aramco building in Riyadh
    Just the NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right1

    security scare

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    security scareMore neutral: security incident

    The phrase makes a routine interception and debris incident sound more alarming than the reported facts require.

    Saudi Arabia faced another security scare Sunday after missiles targeting the kingdom were intercepted, with debris causing…

    Used byJust the News (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Houthi attack on Riyadh
  • Saudi authorities say no one was injured
  • Witness and video accounts of a missile strike
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New York TimesLeft

    Saudi Aramco Tower Damaged as Yemen’s Houthis Attack Riyadh

    The Saudi authorities said no one was injured and that “falling shrapnel” from an intercepted missile had hit the building in the capital’s financial district.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • CNNLeft

    Missile strikes multi-story Aramco building in Riyadh’s financial district, witnesses say

    A missile struck a multi-story building owned by oil giant Aramco in the financial district of the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday, according to multiple witnesses and geolocated video. …

    Read at CNN (opens in a new tab)
  • BloombergLeft

    Aramco Tower in Riyadh’s Financial Hub Damaged After Attack

    Saudi Aramco offices in Riyadh came under attack on Sunday in a fresh escalation in the kingdom’s conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Houthi strikes as a continuing series
  • Damage from shrapnel
  • Building used by the state-owned oil major
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Missiles intercepted before impact
  • Damage described as limited
  • Debris from interceptions
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Bloomberg, Nov 8, 3:54 AM EST

  • Center

    3 hr 21 min later

    Its first report, Nov 8, 7:16 AM EST

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BloombergLeftNov 8, 3:54 AM EST
  2. CNNLeftNov 8, 4:10 AM EST
  3. Financial TimesCenterNov 8, 7:16 AM EST
  4. The New York TimesLeftNov 8, 7:16 AM EST
  5. United Press InternationalCenterNov 8, 10:23 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. Just the News gave only a date, so it is not placed.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it
Embed

Show this story’s coverage card on your own site, blog or class page. It has the headline, who is covering it and a link back here, and it tracks nobody. See the card

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page