AirMail has revealed in a new reported posted this week under the title: “Selfies from Saudi” that the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Slaman (MBS) has been paying well-known influencers to vacation in the kingdom to boost his image worldwide.
To rebrand from an oppressive regime to a luxurious cultural hub, the Saudi Arabian government is paying influencers to vacation in the kingdom, the report reads.
The report pointed out that the Saudi authorities do not only attract the social media influencers, but also target their followers.
According to the report, the targeted influencers included Ryan Philip and Armie Hammer, close friends of head of the Red Sea Film Festival Mohammed Al-Turki, in addition to Victoria’s Secret, Angels Elsa, Irina Shayk, Jordan Dunn and Sofia Ricci.
The Economic Situation Getting Worse
Financial Times newspaper also published a report shedding light on the worsening economic situation in the Kingdom despite “the oil price boom.”
Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom is going through a period of rapid reforms. Riyadh wants to reform the country’s economy by 2030 to reduce its dependence on oil, expand the private sector and reduce subsidies that people have traditionally depended on. The stakes are high for the prince, who considers young Saudis – who want jobs and homes – his base of support, the report reads
The danger is that poorer and less educated people, especially those who live outside the big cities, are left behind as they compete for well-paying jobs, many of which are in the capital, it further added.
The report also pointed out that the Saudi government, which introduced a value-added tax in 2018 and tripled it to 15 percent during the coronavirus pandemic, has also cut electricity and fuel subsidies, raising the cost of living.
According to the report, youth unemployment reached 15 percent in the first quarter of this year. More than 400,000 citizens entered the labor market last year as the government pushes for more citizens to join the private sector.
MBS Boosts Public Image
In its turn, the InsideHook website also charged MBS of using celebrities and online personalities to bolster his public image.
The site also said that there’s a sense of a country repeatedly using its wealth to cover up its more unsettling aspects.
But sportswashing isn’t the only way that the company is attempting to improve its public image, InsideHook added, saying that the country has enlisted the aid of online influencers to bolster its reputation and help make it more of a tourist destination.
