Common Questions

What did the Wall Street Journal reveal about the Riyadh Embassy attack?: A WSJ investigation found the Iranian drone strike was FAR more destructive than disclosed: three floors were unrecoverable, the CIA station was directly hit by a tandem attack (second drone entered the hole made by the first), and a drone targeted the residence of the highest-ranking US diplomat.Source: Wall Street Journal investigation, 2026
Are Iran ceasefire talks happening in 2026?: The Wall Street Journal reported on 4 April 2026 that Ceasefire talks were "at a dead end" and that Iran had refused to meet US officials in Islamabad. Trump simultaneously issued his fourth consecutive ultimatum.Source: Wall Street Journal, April 2026
Who owns the Wall Street Journal?: News Corp, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, acquired the Wall Street Journal from Dow Jones for $5 billion in 2007. The paper operates with editorial independence from News Corp's other outlets but shares the parent company's general ownership structure.Source: Wikipedia, Pew Research
How much is News Corp getting from Anthropic for AI licensing?: News Corp CEO Robert Thomson disclosed on the Q3 FY2026 earnings call that the company anticipates a $1.5 billion settlement with Anthropic, the largest named publisher-AI licensing figure on record as of May 2026.Source: News Corp Q3 FY2026 earnings call

Background

The Wall Street Journal's parent company News Corp disclosed on its Q3 FY2026 earnings call on 8 May 2026 that it anticipates a $1.5 billion settlement with Anthropic for AI content licensing, making it the largest named publisher-AI licensing figure on record. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson described the figure as 'anticipated' rather than closed, and confirmed separately executed deals with Meta and OpenAI alongside ongoing discussions with other AI platforms.

The Anthropic figure is approximately six times the WSJ's prior OpenAI deal, which the Center for Journalism & Liberty's April 2026 report valued at roughly $250 million over five years. Thomson's framing of the Anthropic sum as a settlement, rather than a licensing fee, signals the negotiating posture: News Corp treats AI companies' training-data consumption as retrospective harm to be compensated, not merely a prospective commercial arrangement.

For the WSJ specifically, the News Corp AI licensing revenue represents a significant backstop to a business whose print advertising has declined structurally for a decade. How the revenue is split between News Corp properties, and whether WSJ editorial staff receive any share, will shape collective bargaining in US newsrooms for years.

How the World Sees Them

Iran

The revelations about the embassy strike's true scale were cited by Iranian officials as evidence of the precision of their operations and the dishonesty of US and Saudi public communications.

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh had told journalists the embassy strike caused limited damage; the WSJ investigation exposed this as false and deepened questions about Saudi reliability as an information partner.

United States

The WSJ's embassy investigation embarrassed both Saudi Arabia and the US government, which had allowed the minimised damage narrative to stand; it prompted congressional questions about transparency.

Press freedom advocates

The WSJ's willingness to publish against official denials in an active war is cited as a model, though critics note the paper's News Corp ownership creates potential conflicts of interest.