Saudi Arabia Says It Will Sue Twitter Users Who Compare It To ISIS; Apparently Skips The NY Times
Just about a week ago, the NY Times had a giant article comparing Saudi Arabia to ISIS. It was a rather powerful article that highlights the similarities and connections between the two, while really highlighting the incredibly hypocritical attitude of many Western politicians who freely embrace the Saudi government while claiming that ISIS is barbaric.
Then, just a few days later, Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry announced that it would sue someone for calling Saudi Arabia "ISIS-like." Of course, it's not the NY Times that the Saudi government is going after, but a Twitter user, who compared a Saudi death sentence for a Palestinian poet to the way ISIS carries out its own "justice" system. The Twitter user in question has not been named. It seems like the strategy here is to scare people away from comparing Saudi Arabia to ISIS, but there's a decent chance that it goes in the other direction. Such a plan is so ridiculous that it seems only likely to draw many more comparisons.
And, really, if your goal is to distance yourself from a group of crazy nutjobs who appear to have a somewhat arbitrary sense of justice and thrive on using the death penalty as a weapon, perhaps announcing plans to go after individuals criticizing you on Twitter isn't the best way to further the distinction.
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Then, just a few days later, Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry announced that it would sue someone for calling Saudi Arabia "ISIS-like." Of course, it's not the NY Times that the Saudi government is going after, but a Twitter user, who compared a Saudi death sentence for a Palestinian poet to the way ISIS carries out its own "justice" system. The Twitter user in question has not been named. It seems like the strategy here is to scare people away from comparing Saudi Arabia to ISIS, but there's a decent chance that it goes in the other direction. Such a plan is so ridiculous that it seems only likely to draw many more comparisons.
And, really, if your goal is to distance yourself from a group of crazy nutjobs who appear to have a somewhat arbitrary sense of justice and thrive on using the death penalty as a weapon, perhaps announcing plans to go after individuals criticizing you on Twitter isn't the best way to further the distinction.
Permalink | Comments | Email This Story