Over the past few weeks, a single tweet by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland has spiraled into a massive diplomatic clash between Canada and Saudi Arabia. In the Aug. 2 tweet, Freeland calls for the release of two jailed Saudi activists, Raif and Samar Badawi. Canadian officials over the years have often expressed public concern about Saudi Arabia's approach to human rights, but although the Saudi government has typically brushed off the critiques with no action, this one tweet at this one time has prompted Riyadh to respond with a range of harsh diplomatic and economic measures. So far, the kingdom has withdrawn some 8,300 postsecondary students from Canada, removed Saudi patients undergoing medical care in the country, expelled its Canadian ambassador, frozen new trade relations, dumped millions in Canadian investments from its Public Investment Fund and halted flights to Canada on its state-owned airline.