Claim
Posts claim that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has recently stated that from now on women in Saudi Arabia will be able to decide what they wear. A viral post on X quotes the Saudi Crown Prince as saying, "From now on, women in Saudi Arabia can dress however they want without male permission." An archive of one of the viral posts can be viewed here.
Fact
BOOM found that these posts have misrepresented an ambiguous quote by Prince Mohammed from 2018 saying women can choose not to wear an abaya or head cover, but can choose from a larger selection of "decent and respectful attire" within the Islamic laws. His quote was taken from an interview he gave to US broadcaster CBS, for the show "60 minutes", in March 2018. BOOM read through the transcript of the show, where Prince Mohammed is quoted as saying women can wear "decent, respectful clothing, like men", as per the laws of Shariah. The same misleading quote went viral in February 2024, and was fact-checked by BOOM.