David Kenner

David Kenner is a reporter and the Middle East coordinator for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. As an ICWA fellow (Saudi Arabia, 2019–2021), he was based in Riyadh and Beirut, reporting on political and economic upheaval in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Previously, he was Foreign Policy magazine’s Middle East bureau chief from 2013 to 2018, based in Beirut and Cairo and reporting regularly from Iraq, Jordan and Turkey. His work has been published in The Atlantic, Politico, Slate and elsewhere.

Posts and Dispatches from David Kenner:

• Washington Post: David Kenner on Israeli-Arab military cooperation
  “Arab states expanded cooperation with Israeli military during Gaza war, files show,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), The Washington Post, October 11, 2025...

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• ICIJ: David Kenner on spyware firm Intellexa
  “‘Predator’ spyware firm Intellexa resurgent after US sanctions,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, August 12, 2025...

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• ICIJ: David Kenner on the fall of a Pentagon contractor’s empire
  “How a Pentagon contractor built a global empire—and a massive tax evasion scheme,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, May 23, 2025...

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• ICIJ: David Kenner on Qatari royal investing in Newsmax
  “Qatari royal invested about $50 million in pro-Trump network Newsmax,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019 – 2021), Sarah Ellison and Jonathan O’Connell, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, March 26, 2024...

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• ICIJ: David Kenner on alleged Hamas financier
  “Alleged Hamas financier holds stake in Cyprus company that mines Egyptian gold, leaked files reveal,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019-2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, December 20, 2023...

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• ICIJ: David Kenner on spyware
  “The spy, the lawyer and their global surveillance empire,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019-2021), International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, November 15, 2023...

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• ICIJ: David Kenner on Germany and the Panama Papers
  “Plaintiff seeks to anonymously sue Germany for alleged breach of contract to share revenue raised due to Panama Papers’ tax fraud investigations,” by David Kenner (Saudi Arabia, 2019-2021) and Hamish Boland-Rudder, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, July 13, 2023...

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• Politico: David Kenner on the war in Yemen
  President Joe Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have made "common cause" on Yemen....

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• Exodus from Lebanon
  As the country’s best and brightest flee, those who remain are finding it even more difficult to pick up the pieces. ...

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• The struggle to keep Lebanon healthy
  Beirut’s largest public hospital long embodied all the country’s institutional failures. Now it’s leading the Covid-19 response....

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