Before the ceasefire, you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting another Dubai-dwelling celeb gushing over the government’s “amazing” work in protecting them from Iranian strikes.
At the same time, you’d be hard pressed finding independent reports or pictures coming from the UAE. And as journalists, we can vouch that it’s been next to impossible to speak to anyone in the region about what life is truly like since the war began.
But while it’s fun to poke fun at influencers, the reason behind their (mildly nauseating) praise is a lot more sinister than you might think…
Since the start of the war, governments in the region, particularly in Gulf states and Jordan, have tightened the noose on media freedoms.*
Cybercrime laws in the UAE are among the strictest in the world and prohibit anyone from taking or publishing photos that could “disturb public security”.
Penalties can include a prison sentence and fines, and foreign citizens also face deportation.
*According to Reporters without Borders (RSF)
This hashtag, launched in Saudi Arabia in early March, sums up the campaign waged by some governments to criminalise coverage of the war under the guise of protecting national security.
The government banned “sharing rumours or videos whose sources are unknown” and urged the public to trust “only official government sources.”
Coverage of the war is also hampered by a climate of fear.
In Qatar, police reportedly approach residents and demand to see their phones. We spoke to one man in the area, who said he was asked to delete a photograph he had taken of black smoke following an Iranian attack.
He was lucky not to have been detained, as even receiving such pics over Whatsapp can result in arrest.
“It is impossible to go out with a camera in the street,” one journalist based in the capital, Doha, told RSF, describing the situation as increasingly challenging for reporters.
Examples of restricted press freedom
- On 3 March, several journalists reported receiving emails from X informing them that their accounts had been blocked in the UAE.
- In Kuwait, journalists face prosecution for sharing any photo or comment that deviates from the official government version.
- In Bahrain, journalists can only enter affected areas after the security forces have completed their investigations.
- On April 12, two British men were released after being arrested in Dubai under the UAE’s cybercrime laws over allegedly sharing photos of the Iran conflict.
- A flight attendant was recently freed after being detained for allegedly taking and sharing a photograph of an Iranian drone that crashed near Dubai airport.
- A 60-year-old tourist from London was arrested on suspicion of taking a photograph of Iranian strikes.
“Press freedom is not a luxury: it guarantees the existence of all other freedoms and must be defended, especially against regimes that have all too often flouted it.” - Jonathan Dagher
Head of RSF's Middle East Desk