As Iran relentlessly targets Gulf states with drones and missiles, governments across the region are moving aggressively to control the flow of information on social media.
As Iran relentlessly targets Gulf states with drones and missiles, governments across the region are moving aggressively to control the flow of information on social media.
Qatar's Interior Ministry announced Monday the arrest of 313 people of various nationalities for filming and sharing footage of Iranian attacks, spreading what authorities described as "misleading information and rumors." The arrests were carried out by the ministry's cybercrime unit.
Qatar is not alone. Bahrain detained four individuals for sharing videos of Iranian strike damage. Kuwait arrested three people for mocking the country's situation in a video.
The UAE sent mass SMS warnings to residents threatening legal action for sharing "sensitive images" or "unreliable information," while the Public Prosecutor's office explicitly banned filming or publishing footage of missile or drone impact sites. Saudi Arabia issued similar warnings.
Despite the crackdowns, images of missiles, drones and war damage continue to circulate freely on social media and in private group chats, underscoring the near-impossibility of controlling information flows in a live conflict.
Iran has been conducting daily attacks on airports, military bases, energy installations and residential areas across the Gulf region since the US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Khamenei on February 28.
Qatar came under direct Iranian fire Thursday, as the Islamic Republic launched 14 ballistic missiles and four drones against the Gulf state starting at 11:51 AM, the Qatari Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani that Iranian missile attacks were directed at U.S. interests and not at Qatar
Qatar has carried out strikes against Iran over the past 24 hours in direct retaliation for Tehran's attacks across the Gulf, Israel's Channel 12 reported Monday, citing unnamed Western sources familiar with the matter.
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