Saudis accused of using Snapchat to promote crown prince and silence critics

Critics say app - partly owned by a Saudi investor - promoting image of Mohammed bin Salman while critical voices are punished

Saudi Arabia appears to be exploiting the US messaging app Snapchat to promote the image of its crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, while also imposing draconian sentences on influencers who use the platform to post even mild criticism of the future king.

The California-based company, which last year agreed to a collaboration" with the Saudi culture ministry, has more than 20 million users in the kingdom - including an estimated 90% of 13-to-34-year-olds - and the crown prince has met personally with some of the platform's biggest Snapchatters" for informal talks about current events, according to people familiar with the encounters.