Making headlines is very common for the CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk. A while ago, Mr. Musk was on the front page of nearly every news publication on the planet after he purchased Twitter and became the CEO of the social media giant. However, on the day of the final game of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Elon Musk made headlines for the wrong reasons and now bears the brunt of scrutiny online.
Elon Musk was in the stands at the FIFA World Cup 2022 final, played between Argentina and France. During the final, the Tesla CEO was pictured with a Russian TV presenter. The name of the presenter is Nailya Asker-Zade. She has been sanctioned by Western countries like the UK and Canada due to the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. Zade is a 35-year-old Russian national who is allegedly in a relationship with Russian banker Andrei Kostin, another sanctioned individual.
I am not sad, but this is:
Elon Musk was spotted with a sanctioned, pro-Putin Russian TV presenter at the World Cup final in Qatar. pic.twitter.com/QnflW7LXLk— Johannes van Lochem (@JohannesLochem) December 19, 2022
This controversial photograph comes at a time when Musk has already been crucified in terms of public opinion turning against him after his latest antics on Twitter wherein the SpaceX founder has made some controversial decisions in his day-to-day running of Twitter.
Fans react as Elon Musk takes a selfie with a pro-Russian TV presenter at the Qatar World Cup
Public opinion on Twitter has been against Elon Musk since he arrived at the helm of affairs. This is due to the policies that the billionaire has implemented and tried to implement in his time as CEO of the social media company.
First, in a “Freedom Friday” drive that saw him give “amnesty” to previously banned far-right figures on Twitter and accounts of Donald Trump and Kanye West among others were reinstated.
Next, Musk announced his intention to monetize Twitter’s age-old free services. And lastly, he also suspended the accounts of critical journalists from Twitter. Apart from that, Musk’s tenure as Twitter CEO also started with protests as he fired more than 50% of the staff.
Adding fuel to the fire is the little matter of the Tesla CEO’s picture with a sanctioned Russian personality. Here’s how Twitter reacted to the photograph.
Elon Musk is posing for a selfie with a top Russian state propagandist Nailya Asker-zade in Qatar. She is a girlfriend of sanctioned Putin’s private banker Andrey Kostin. pic.twitter.com/9HH9m1oa93
— Mykhaïlo Golub (@golub) December 19, 2022
He’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time when these people taking pics, Putin’s gal, “prince” Jared Kushner & Epstein’s madame Maxwell..right?? Lmao
— suburban squirt gunn (@RizzoFrankie) December 19, 2022
look dude, the poor man just keeps getting photobombed by these terrible, horrible people. keeps on happening, no way to stop it. what can you do?
— pirateprentice (@pirateprentice3) December 19, 2022
This makes me want to throw up. Moral depravity with no end.
— Martin Dev (@MartinDev4) December 19, 2022
As is amply visible by these tweets, the users of the platform are not happy with Musk’s actions and have been quick to call him out. Most people have resorted to sarcastic comments in taunting the 51-year-old’s agreement to get clicked with Zade.
He is at a game with thousands of people. He is smart but you can’t verify everyone that asks for a picture. A picture doesn’t mean association or agreement.
— Elric (@fansbabyboy) December 19, 2022
To be fair, did he know who she is? She’s not that famous.
— Oy The Mongoose (@HP15195638) December 19, 2022
Even though he was called out by a number of Twitter accounts, there were some who defended him.
“He is at a game with thousands of people. He is smart but you can’t verify everyone that asks for a picture. A picture doesn’t mean association or agreement,” one person pointed out.
“To be fair, did he know who she is? She’s not that famous,” said another.
Duel in the Desert.
Couldn’t ask for a better game. Incredible play by 🇦🇷 & 🇫🇷 !!!! pic.twitter.com/XUZxjymAx0— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
Elon Musk was in attendance as Lionel Messi‘s Argentina beat Kylian Mbappe‘s France to lift the FIFA World Cup 2022. He appreciated the elite quality of soccer that was played between the sides. He posted from his Twitter account.
