King’s 19 tweets receive 3 million responses

JEDDAH: Nineteen tweets of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman posted in 2015 on his personal Twitter account received over 3 million re-tweets and likes.
This was the second highest for a world leader despite it being so few, according to statistics published by the site at the end of 2015, a local publication reported.
In early 2015, the king published three tweets in the English language, the first two welcoming American President Barack Obama to the Kingdom. In the other English one, which was also translated into French, he condemned the terrorist attacks in Paris and sent his condolences to the French people.
The first tweet posted by the king shortly after he took the throne, was to mourn the loss of his brother King Abdullah. He offered his deepest condolences to the Saudi people and Arab and Muslim nations.
The king’s second tweet at that time said: “I ask God the Almighty to give me the strength to serve our people and meet their aspirations, and to maintain and protect our county and nation from evil and misfortune.” This tweet received 268,000 re-tweets.
The third, fourth and fifth tweets by King Salman involved diplomatic issues including welcoming Obama in Arabic and English. These tweets received more than 113,000 re-tweets and likes.
In the sixth tweet, the King addressed his people, which received 376,000 re-tweets and 131,000 likes. In the seventh tweet, he announced the swearing in of several officials into public office, which received 132,000 re-tweets and 54,000 likes.
In the eighth tweet, the king explained his vision for the future of the Kingdom saying: “My priority and first goal is to make our country a successful and leading model for the whole world on all levels with our joint efforts.” This saw 174,000 re-tweets and 6,309 likes.
In his ninth tweet the king urged the newly appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Cabinet ministers to serve the people, which saw 132,000 re-tweets and 5,304 likes.
In his tenth and eleventh tweets King Salman congratulated the people on the occasion of Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr. In his twelfth tweet, he mourned the Muslims who were martyred in Makkah’s crane crash tragedy and pledged to prosecute those responsible. This saw 141,000 re-tweets and 4,508 likes.
In his thirteenth tweet the king congratulated Muslims on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha and the Saudi people on the country’s National Day. The resulted in 188,000 re-tweets and 3,508 likes.
The fourteenth tweet came on the occasion of the Summit of South American-Arab Countries and saw 7,804 re-tweets and 3,508 likes. In the fifteenth tweet, he thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people for hosting the G20 Summit. The tweet saw 69,000 re-tweets and 3,604 likes.
In his sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth tweets in Arabic, English and French, he condemned the terrorist attacks in Paris, and called for further efforts to counter extremism. This tweet received 297,000 re-tweets and likes.
The last tweet for 2015 saw the king address Gulf Cooperation Council leaders for the group’s summit, which received 7,105 re-tweets and 26,000 likes.