Social media influencers posting 'tone deaf' content from UAE

Eva Osborne

Human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher has expressed concern about the number of social media influencers posting “completely tone deaf content” from the United Arab Emirates during the current conflict.

Gallagher told Newstalk’s Claire Byrne show that the posts were part of the “culture washing” that the UAE and Saudi Arabia did while "hiding away” their “very dubious, problematic human rights record, and they present themselves as being a modern, progressive place. And having influencers posting this kind of gushing positive content is part and parcel of that.”

The barrister was responding to posts from a number of influencers saying they felt “completely safe” because of the leadership in the UAE.

“There's kind of a meme which is going about, a template, which is being used by a lot of them, which says, ‘you live in Dubai, aren't you scared? ‘And then there's this reassuring music and it cuts to these images of Emirati leaders saying, ‘no, because I know who's protecting us’. Now, that's being put out in large part because influencers are reliant on the Emirates authorities in order to continue their role.”

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“They've got to get a license in order to operate. And there's been a very clear warning by the UAE authorities that the country's cybercrime law will be used against people if they spread what's called false news, rumours or misleading information. So the message is clear, support the UAE, say that the UAE is safe and people are jumping to it.”

“This is culture washing. And the influencers are part and parcel of that apparatus, which tries to paint the UAE as a very, very different place to the place I see having practiced for 25 years as a human rights lawyer.

Gallagher added that there was now a “more subtle threat” since February 1st this year, where all influencers and content creators have to obtain a mandatory advertiser permit from the UAE Media Council to publish any promotional content, paid or unpaid. “And those permits can be revoked if the person fails to comply with stringent media regulations.

“Many people have drunk the Kool-Aid, many people who were there, you know, who say things like ‘this is a haven, it's tax free, very low tax, very good for me financially, very good weather’, you know, are people who have gone there wearing golden blindfolds and who have not been alert to the geopolitics of the region and have not been alert to the true picture in UAE.

“And some pattern we've seen over the last number of years, which always really troubles me, is you get sudden awareness for a moment when there's a shocking case, like say, for example, Roscommon woman Tori Towey in 2024, her case, suddenly there was a lot of attention on it, people were thinking of the UAE in a different way, but then it's gone in a puff of smoke, and people are back to thinking of UAE as this, glamorous, safe location, without ever really questioning, well, why is it that it's this safe, given where it is in the region, and without ever really thinking about its human rights record.”

“One of the really problematic things with UAE, and also with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is that there's a mismatch between how they're perceived and the reality on the ground.

“The same is also true of Hong Kong, where one of my clients is detained. So they present themselves, the business model is that they present themselves as a haven in the region, a place where it's safe to do business, a place that's progressive and modern and there's this seamy underbelly which is hidden unless you get caught out.”