Remember that big New Year’s trip Selena took with a bunch of girlies and went to Dubai?
It was in 2014 and The likes of Selena Gomez, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Shay Mitchell, Josephine Skriver, and Devon Windsor all went to Dubai.
It was a trip reportedly funded by powerful executives in Dubai who wanted to have a nice time with the girls so they flew them into the country.
Jenner took to Instagram on Wednesday to wish her followers a happy New Year while posting a photo of the stunning fireworks show taking place outside the Burj Al Arab hotel, where the group is staying. She enthusiastically captioned the image, "happy new yearrrr!!!," sharing her excitement over the fun-filled vacation.
And of course, the snark and side-eye ensued:
There have been many rumors that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has funded lots of these trips even to Instagram models.
A year on from the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is using social media influencers, including some Australians, to repair its damaged image. Dr Raihan Ismail, an associate lecturer at the Centre for Arab and Islamic studies at the Australian Nationality University, says Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars to reform its image in the west. Guardian Australia contacted almost 50 influencers who appeared to have accepted sponsored trips or been paid for advertisements. The country’s strict guardianship rules, which required women to gain permission from a male relative to travel or apply for a passport, were relaxed in August.
Influencers are chauffeured around in helicopters, taken scuba diving in the Red Sea, put up in lofty hotels and driven out to an ancient, unfinished tomb in the Al Ula desert, and have all published resoundingly positive posts. On Instagram, blonde, blue-eyed women wearing abayas in the dusty landscape beckon millions of followers to rethink their perception of Saudi Arabia. Two of them who were posting photos of Saudi Arabia to five Instagram accounts with a combined 4.65m followers canceled five minutes before an arranged interview. They say the Saudi tourism board sent a group message asking influencers not to speak to media.
The highly curated social media posts avoid any mention of human rights abuses, such as beheadings and crucifixions, women fleeing the country because of domestic violence, or Saudi Arabia’s bombing campaign in Yemen, which the UN says is causing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. And while influencers talk of a nation opening up to the world, six women who spearheaded the campaign to allow women to drive remain in prison without charge. Influencers traveling under a state-sponsored program are not getting the full picture, Ismail says.
Scanu, a 22-year-old photographer, was one of the first influencers enlisted by Gateway KSA to film a video of the kingdom in February 2018 and has received plenty of backlash for accepting the sponsored trip. “I don’t agree with ‘influencers’ traveling there and commenting on issues they’re not educated in,” he says. “It’s definitely not what the media makes it out to be. I think there are a lot of improvements to be made for sure but I never felt unsafe or in danger while there.” There is a long list of rules for visitors to observe, including dressing modestly, not showing public affection, and not drinking alcohol. It is also illegal to display sympathy towards Qatar, practise homosexual acts, practise a religion other than Islam, or make comments online that ridicule or criticise religion, the Saudi royal family, Saudi Arabia or its leadership.
“If someone goes to Saudi Arabia and sees all the changes that are taking place in Saudi Arabia and how some Saudis particularly younger Saudis are enjoying themselves, of course they’re going to say that ‘this is great the Saudi state is changing its liberalizing’. She also cautions that those working on the regime’s image need to consider the ethical dimensions of doing so. “Sometimes you have to pick a stand. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept. If you see the country violating human rights. Do you turn a blind eye or do you take a stand?”
Sources:
https://www.sizezero.org/blog/darksideofmodeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuElbzeSEA4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-FEaFcyj3Q
https://nsp.lse.ac.uk/articles/158
https://scandalous.media/blog/dark-hollywood-yachting
https://www.the-triton.com/2023/04/the-dark-side-of-yachting/
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-66479335
https://www.superyachtcontent.com/superyacht-crew-lifestyle/sexual-abuse-in-yachting/
https://www.courttv.com/news/lawsuit-targets-diddy-and-son-apple-does-not-fall-far-from-the-tree/
No comments:
Post a Comment