Saudi Arabia pays Guinness World Records in ‘new whitewashing’ ruse – and is awarded records for stunningly boring achievements including ‘largest multi-effect distillation desalination unit’ and ‘largest dental hospital’
Saudi Arabia won Guinness World Records for boring feats like having the “largest dental clinic” after the company paid up in a new so-called “money laundering trick.”
This week, GWR announced ten new awards for the country, a decision that has come under fire from human rights groups.
While data is generally interesting and unique, such as the longest beard on a living woman and most consecutive visits to Disneyland, Saudi Arabia’s performance is dull in comparison.
Their wins include ‘largest indoor water reservoir for the storage of drinking water’, ‘largest multi-effect distillation-desalination unit’ and ‘largest dental hospital’.
Saudi Arabia is seen as a ‘repressive’ state by human rights groups and the UN recently expressed concern about the impending execution of Abdullah Al-Derazi, who was a child at the time of his alleged crimes.
This week, GWR announced ten new awards for the country, a decision that has come under fire from human rights groups
Their wins include ‘largest indoor water reservoir for the storage of drinking water’, ‘largest multi-effect distillation-desalination unit’ and ‘largest dental hospital’
Analysis by the Time found that the Middle Eastern country had rapidly increased its number of records compared to five years ago.
Before 2019, 54 awards were given, but after this period the number increased to 160. Last year alone, it managed to set 56 niche records, such as ‘Biggest Intellectual Property Lesson’.
GWR said that of the 223 awards mentioning Saudi Arabia as the location of the attempt, 88 were standard requests or researched and 135 were the result of paid consultations.
Human rights groups alleged that GWR helped the country hide its reputation.
Zaki Sarraf is a death penalty investigator for Reprieve, a nonprofit organization that “fights for victims of extreme human rights violations.”
He called the country a “very repressive state” and told the newspaper: “The Guinness World Records should not help launder Saudi Arabia’s reputation and whitewash what is happening in the kingdom.”
Mr Sarraf added that Saudi Arabia has tried to present itself in a better light through a series of PR exercises, such as the purchase of Newcastle United in 2021.
A £305 million deal was agreed with Mike Ashley and signed by the Premier League three years ago.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – the owners of Newcastle United – will reportedly make a bid for AS Roma for £768 million.
James Lynch, co-director of human rights organization FairSquare and a former British diplomat based in Qatar, said GWR must reveal which of its data was linked to payments.
He also told the newspaper: “Guinness strongly supports Mohammed bin Salman’s economic and investment drive and to support that is to support his broader program of repression.”
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia
GWR said that of the 223 awards where Saudi Arabia is the location of the attempt, 88 were standard applications or investigated and 135 were the result of paid consultations.
Guinness World Records told MailOnline: ‘We truly believe that breaking records should be for everyone; whoever you are, whatever your background, wherever you come from in the world and we will always embrace the opportunity to introduce GWR to new audiences everywhere.
‘This inclusive approach comes with risks, so we are following the example of the UK and US governments in where we can do business.
“If sanctions are in place, we would obviously stop operating within a country, as we did with Russia in February 2022.
‘We would also refuse to license our brand if we felt that record breaking was being used in a polarizing or negative way, and this is something we are mindful of in all applications.
“GWR is a business, and like many Western companies, brands, sporting events and so on, as Saudi society has started to open up, we have seen a surge in interest in what we do.
‘The number of fans on our social media channels has increased by thousands and we are starting to see an increase in sign-ups from the general public, who we serve for free, likely thanks to many of the records broken by private and public sector companies.
“At events like the Saudi Games, ordinary citizens of Saudi Arabia had the opportunity to experience record-breaking firsthand for the first time.”