Saudi Arabia Trying to Improve Image by Using Instagram Influencers
You know, instead of stopping the execution of gays and journalists, maybe recognize basic human rights?
Saudi Arabia has chosen to use Instagram influencers as a way to help boost its global image.
They took this route instead of stopping the execution of gays and journalists and embracing basic human rights.
The murder of newspaper columnist Jamal Khashoggi last year was the last straw for the world. Saudi Arabia’s continues to deny involvement in his killing and dismemberment. PR firms that prop up the Islamic kingdom in DC received a “scarlet letter.” Executives and investigators cut ties and canceled visits to Saudi Arabia.
So why not use social media influencers?
Los Angeles-based travel blogger Aggie Lal took this opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia. From Bloomberg:
Her 10-day tour was arranged by Gateway KSA, a program that started offering tours two years ago and is funded by Saudi corporate sponsorship. It’s hosted by Prince Turki Al-Faisal, a former intelligence chief who later had a short stint as Saudi ambassador to the U.S. following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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“What we present to these young people is that there’s another side to the story about Saudi Arabia than what they simply read in the press,” Prince Turki says of the guests of Gateway KSA. “We have much to do in the kingdom to affect the opinion of others.”
The program’s effort “shows that the Saudis are looking far beyond just lobbying and public-relations firms to garner sway in the West,” says Ben Freeman, director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative, which tracks lobbying at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C. After the kingdom’s efforts to rebrand were derailed by Khashoggi’s murder, “it just makes perfect sense for them to pursue alternative avenues of influence like this,” he says.
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Some of Lal’s 800,000 followers lashed out at her “propaganda,” but others decided to follow in her footsteps to Saudi Arabia:
She posted stories of her trip, including how she stumbled across rules on gender segregation by accidentally entering the male side of a Starbucks. Lal recalled broaching the topic of Khashoggi’s murder with Saudis whom she met. They told her they weren’t proud of what their government did, she says.
“I think everyone from any country in the world can relate to that statement,” says Lal, speaking by phone last month while on a tour in Europe. “It’s obviously not a very popular opinion. People want me to talk badly about Saudi,” she says. “We live in America, and it’s more convenient to demonize other countries so you feel like there’s nothing to learn from.”
Dutch-Australian influencer Nelleke Van Zandvoort Quispel developed the idea of Gateway KSA after she visited Saudi Arabia. The visit shed light on “another side of the country.” She met Prince Turki at a Georgetown event and proposed the idea to him.
Harvard students became the first to use the delegation in 2018. Since then over “200 people have visited through the program,” mainly influencers and university students:
Their costs are covered, though they don’t receive any other fees.
Gateway KSA doesn’t have a direct relationship with the government, though sponsors include state-controlled Saudi Telecom, Saudi Basic Industries, and Saudi Arabian Airlines. “It’s not that I’m particularly pro-Saudi or have a political agenda,” Quispel says. “I think the way in which we show the country is in a very subtle and fair way.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has tried to open the kingdom to the rest of the world by loosening “social restrictions.” He celebrated “a concert by French DJ David Guetta at a motor racing festival also attended by influencers.”
Saudi Arabia will also “issue tourist visas for the first time later this month.”
Reactions
Sane people had perfect reactions to this news. Some of us cannot brush aside the brutality that remains in the regime despite the changes made by Prince Mohammed.
Maybe stop killing gay people? https://t.co/93tdX4DIQu
— Brad Polumbo (@brad_polumbo) September 8, 2019
Saudi Arabia: We tend to get a bad rep. How can we improve our reputation?
Normal People: Stop executing homosexuals.
Saudi Arabia: …
Normal People: …
Saudi Arabia: I mean besides that.
— J.S.R. Rayburn (@jsrrayburn) September 9, 2019
They could start by not oppressing women and LGBT folk and non-Muslims
— Jaymac (@politimac720) September 8, 2019
They can improve its image by actually getting rid of backwards superstitious laws, human rights atrocities & their oppressive theocratic system. But that would mean the Royal Family loses its power & influence over the masses.
— The Irritated Akata ?️?? (@MaratheAkata2) September 7, 2019
Sure we have an area called #ChopChopSquare where we publicly behead and crucify ppl for being gay, leaving Islam, or practicing witchcraft…but have you seen these pics on insta? ?
— Yasmine Mohammed ياسمين محمد ? (@YasMohammedxx) September 8, 2019
“It’s all fun & games until an influencer gets chopped into pieces by a bone saw..”
— . (@RobForbesDJ) September 6, 2019
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Comments
What the hell is a ‘media influencer?’ Marshall McLuhan call yer office.
Headscarf, young lady? Influencer = staged photo.
Although, 2018 saw Saudi women granted permission to legally drive for the first time in the kindom’s history. However, a woman is still under the authority of a male guardian in her family, and requires a chaperone’s supervision for public outings.
The societal progress is astounding…
I’d take their money!! ??
They execute homosexuals? I thought that was Iranians. Any journalists they are likely to notice are expendable, so no problem there.
This hijacking of the ability to post by American Greatness really ticks me off. I have a monthly donation, I’m logged in, and I have to click on “donate” to get to post my comment.
PS the “subscribe” button doesn’t do anything more than open another location in this tab and loads a black page.
blank – damned autocorrect.
It works for Democrats
Let’s be honest for a change. Neither party cares one little bit.
So, how stupid do you have to be to pay attention to Instagram (or other) “infulencers,” anyway?
(Well, umm, probably about as stupid as to be swayed by a celebrity endorsement?)