Saudi's General Commission for Audiovisual Media (GCAM) has fined two well-known influencers 400,000 Saudi Riyals, (nearly $106,000), for a video they posted deemed "offensive to the Maldives".
Famous Saudi influencers Rahaf Alqahtani and Muruj Al Ruhaili were on a visit to the Maldives recently, when they posted several videos on Snapchat with several remarks that were considered "insulting" to the Maldives.
وزير #المالديف زعل من هذاالمقطع المسيئ لهم
— ..........? (@m1393on) May 19, 2022
واكيد اذا تغافل عنهم راح يتكرر من غيرهم
ولاتقولون كل شخص يمثل نفسه
زي مانحن اخذنا فكره سيئةعن بعض الدول بسبب مشاكل ابنائهم عندنا
نفس الشي راح يصير لنا من #مشاهير_الفلس#حمله_تبليك_رهف_ومروج #رهف_القحطاني #مروج_الرحيلي pic.twitter.com/wJnoMgf5WT
Translation: "A minister in the Maldives has expressed anger over this insulting video. If we ignore this it will happen again. Just as we think badly of some nations because of acts by their members, the same might happen to us."
According to the GCAM, the two influencers violated the rules by insulting another country during their trips, saying they wouldn't allow such behavior by Saudis abroad.
#SaudiArabia #Snapchat :2 young Saudi women with big followings on social media fined 400,000 riyals (about $100,000) for post “insulting” the Maldives after Maldives minister demanded action from KSA-hashtag trending calling for them to be punished #عقوبه_رهف_ومروج #المالديف pic.twitter.com/R0y5qfEu8g
— sebastian usher (@sebusher) May 23, 2022
Saudi commentators went online to support the Saudi decision, saying such insults to other countries should be stopped by Saudi tourists, to protect the country's image.
Rahaf Alqahtani and Muruj Al Ruhaili are both internet influencers who have a considerable following on Instagram and Snapchat, both apps popular in Saudi Arabia.
