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Wednesday, February 24, 2021

How a Wikipedia error took root in the world’s media: Ahmad Zaki Yamani, the ‘first OPEC secretary-general’ that never was [Arab News, 24 February 2021]

Title:
How a Wikipedia error took root in the world’s media: Ahmad Zaki Yamani, the ‘first OPEC secretary-general’ that never was
 
Author:
Tarek Ali Ahmad
 
Published:
Arab News, 24 February 2021

From the article:
Ahmad Zaki Yamani, the longest-serving Saudi petroleum minister who oversaw the infamous oil embargo of 1973, is considered among the towering figures of the global energy market. It is therefore no surprise that his death at the age of 90 on Tuesday was picked up by international news agencies.  
 
What is surprising, however, is how many of these reputable media outlets — including ones in Yamani’s native Saudi Arabia — got one major fact wrong about the late minister’s career.