A report by The New York Times has a cited a report by the consultancy firm McKinsey & Co that discussed public perception of economic austerity measures announced by Saudi Arabia in 2015.

The newspaper, which obtained a copy of the nine-page report, said sentiment was more negative than positive, and that the conversation was driven by three people the report identified.

After the McKinsey report was issued, one of the three was arrested, a second said the government arrested two of his brothers and hacked his cellphone, and the third Twitter account was shut down, according to The Times.

McKinsey said in a statement that it was "horrified" by the possibility its report was used to target individuals and that it was not prepared for any government entity. McKinsey said it was investigating how and with whom the document was shared.

"We were never commissioned by any authority in Saudi Arabia to prepare a report of any kind or in any form to identify critics," McKinsey said. "In our work with governments, McKinsey has not and never would engage in any work that seeks to target individuals based on their views."

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First Published:Oct 22, 2018 12:09 PM IST