[custom_adv] Influencer trips that sparked Internet backlash became commonplace through the tail end of the 2010s. [custom_adv] "If you have any semblance of journalistic integrity, maybe it might be a cute idea not to take money from foreign governments that, um, I don't know, openly kill and assassinate journalists people," model Teddy Quinlivan wrote on her Instagram Story, referring to Glamour UK's promotion of the festival as part of a "paid partnership" on its Instagram Story over the weekend. [custom_adv] "You can't really 'buy' that kind of messaging, and how was your experience there tainted by who organized your trip and what you can or cannot say? And who you can or cannot meet? Where you can or cannot go? How is your influence and following being leveraged, and by whom?"And one final incident that made its way toward the top of discover feeds across the globe is, once again, making headlines for all the wrong reasons — just in time to close out the decade. [custom_adv] Over the past weekend, dozens of models, social media influencers and other Western celebrities visited Saudi Arabia on what appeared to be a coordinated, paid-for trip to attend MDL Beast, a new music festival in the region. [custom_adv] Although the event itself — one in which international DJs, local musicians and visual artists performed and presented their works — was apolitical in its programming, an official press release noted: "MDL Beast Festival has only been made possible due to reforms from Saudi Arabia's national Vision 2030 agenda, such as permitting live concerts, sporting events, welcoming foreign visitors and tourists, as well as relaxing local laws on dress code and freedoms." [custom_adv] Although the event itself — one in which international DJs, local musicians and visual artists performed and presented their works — was apolitical in its programming, an official press release noted: "MDL Beast Festival has only been made possible due to reforms from Saudi Arabia's national Vision 2030 agenda, such as permitting live concerts, sporting events, welcoming foreign visitors and tourists, as well as relaxing local laws on dress code and freedoms." [custom_adv] Although the event itself — one in which international DJs, local musicians and visual artists performed and presented their works — was apolitical in its programming, an official press release noted: "MDL Beast Festival has only been made possible due to reforms from Saudi Arabia's national Vision 2030 agenda, such as permitting live concerts, sporting events, welcoming foreign visitors and tourists, as well as relaxing local laws on dress code and freedoms." [custom_adv] Although the event itself — one in which international DJs, local musicians and visual artists performed and presented their works — was apolitical in its programming, an official press release noted: "MDL Beast Festival has only been made possible due to reforms from Saudi Arabia's national Vision 2030 agenda, such as permitting live concerts, sporting events, welcoming foreign visitors and tourists, as well as relaxing local laws on dress code and freedoms."