Influencer to support Newcastle criticized for the promotion of travel to Saudi Arabia
Social media influences were criticized by the Newcastle United Fans’ Anti-Sportswashing group for the promotion of Saudi Arabia on their accounts.
Several influencers have published messages and videos encouraging Newcastle supporters to visit Saudi Arabia to continue their celebrations after winning the Carabao Cup last month.
The public investment fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) has owned a share of the 80 % majority in Newcastle since October 2021. According to Human Rights Watch, PIF “has facilitated and benefited from human rights violations” while investing in international sports institutes “to whiten the reputational damage”.
Adam Pearson, an influencer in support of the Newcastle whose YouTube account has over 56,000 subscribers, has published a video on Tiktok who enhanced the virtues of Saudi Arabia and transmitted travel tips to fans.
“Put in Saudi Arabia, enjoy culture, learn much more on the country,” he says in the video.
Pearson continues by explaining how “easy” to arrive in Saudi Arabia on direct flights from the United Kingdom and breaks down the process of obtaining a visa, as well as promoting travel packages in Saudi. “Book, have fun, draw the best,” he adds.
Another Newcastle fan account, The Magpie Channel, has published a video on their Tiktok account in which the host, Matty Renton, asks fans to guess where there are famous Saudi reference points. His video promotes the same travel agreement in Saudi di Pearson.
Thogden, another influencer whose YouTube channel has over 1.9 million subscribers, uses similar language in his video, shot with his father, on Tiktok. Like Pearson, it suggests that fans should visit Boulevard, a district of entertainment in Riyadh.
Pearson, The Magpie Channel and Thogden included hashtag #Ad with their Tiktok posts, while the first two also included tags that confirm that they derive from “paid partnerships”. Pearson and Thogden’s videos both mention Visithiudi.com, but include connections to Southall Travel, while Pearson and Renton videos include screen records of a user who accesses the Southall Travel website.
The posts were condemned by NUFC fans against Sportswashing, a group of campaigns established in the wake of the club’s acquisition.
In an X post, the group said: “On #nufc YouTuber & Tiktakers that connects the travels to the Saudi Arabia to #nufcfans – a sad but serious problem that shows how far the human rights that abuse of the Saudi dictatorship that they possess will make young people with their sports project.”
(A photo of the men’s team of Saudi Arabia before a friendly match against Costa Rica at St James’ Park in Newcastle in October 2023, Oli Scarff/Afp via Getty Images)
