Elon Musk's Twitter purchase draws flak over abuse-ridden Saudi funding

Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter has come under flak over a sizable funding a Saudi Arabian prince allocated to the American social media platform as the ultra-conservative kingdom grapples with a stark track record of human rights abuse and repression.

According to Press TV, the $44 billion deal was concluded on Friday after a months-long spat between Musk and the Twitter Company, with the 51-year-old billionaire swiftly dismissing its CEO and other top executives as part of "reforms" he had already promised the internet and social media users, among them the "prioritization of free speech".

The purchase was, however, shrouded in controversy after Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said he and his Kingdom Holding Company had rolled over a combined $1.89 billion in existing Twitter shares, making them Twitter’s largest shareholder after Musk.

“The SpaceX founder relied on equity from other investors to carry out the deal. Alwaleed, a Saudi prince, and CEO of the Kingdom Holding company committed $1.89 billion—equating to nearly 35 million shares—in equity to help Musk purchase Twitter,” media reports underlined.

Musk's reliance on Saudi Arabia drew harsh criticism over Riyadh's stifling of free expression and human rights violations at home and aboard.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is accused of ordering the 2018 brutal murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was a vocal critic of the Saudi royalty. Khashoggi was dismembered with a bone saw during a visit to the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Some critics raised eyebrows at the purchase and voiced concerns about the possibility of promoting hate speech online, highlighting what they viewed as a dangerous hypocrisy in allowing Saudi royalty so much ownership of Twitter.

Tommy Vietor, a former staffer for ex-US President Barack Obama, tweeted, "The second largest investor in Twitter is...Saudi Arabia. The bone saw-loving kingdom that just sentenced a 72-year-old American man to 16 years in jail for his tweets."

Saudi Arabia has long been under the international community's spotlight over its flagrant violation of human rights and continued crackdown on free expression.

ME