Have you missed the most important political stories of this week on the GCC crisis? Scroll all the way down to get the updates on the latest developments in the ongoing Gulf crisis.
Fake accounts have become widespread on social media to increase their followers and project credibility ever since the blockade of Qatar started. Around three years ago, on 24 May, fabricated quotes attributed to Qatar’s leadership posted on Qatar News Agency - QNA’s website and on its Twitter feed. Just over a week later, on 5th June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut all diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar, and imposed an illegal blockade against Qatar. Since then fake accounts, trolls, and hash-tags have increased dramatically to spread disinformation campaigns.
And it appears that the fake news patrols are out in full force just making things up, from creating fake accounts on popular Qatari websites and Facebook pages, to even taking videos out unrelated videos and claiming them to be related to Qatar. For example, a video of gunshots being fired in Qatar and coup proven FAKE!
Fake accounts also help to promote Twitter hashtags trending though posting a number of consecutive tweets in a short time to give it the required boost for being recognized by Twitter algorithms.
In line with this, Twitter takes down thousands of accounts linked to Egypt, Saudi Arabia over spreading misinformation about Qatar. Facebook has also removed hundreds of accounts in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, citing "fake accounts" that often discussed news and politics against Qatar and some other countries.
It's always important to verify and cross-check sources, particularly if you see different information being circulated. If you see fake news, don't be afraid to report or flag it! Facebook has an option to report fake news, and it's very easy to do! In fact, Facebook encourages people to report fake news and stop the spread of misinformation.
Watch the video to learn about fake news, how to spot and report them to Qatar authorities so you can help stop its spread.
Qatar reiterated that the unjust blockade imposed against it threatens the security and stability of the region, violates international law and contradicts the orientations of the international community, stressing that this blockade is imposed under false pretexts without regard for the dire consequences for the security and stability of the region, says a press release from Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This came in a statement delivered by HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani during a virtual meeting held by the UN Security Council on the 'Protection of civilians in armed conflict'. Her Excellency said the Security Council stressed the importance of conflict prevention in the context of a commitment to collective action to spare people all over the world the suffering and destruction caused by conflicts and to enhance international peace and security.
In this context, Her Excellency expressed her regret that this approach was not observed in many cases, as the unjust and unlawful blockade against the State of Qatar will enter its fourth year on June 5.
Qatar has stressed that cyber-attacks threaten security, peace and stability, coinciding with the third anniversary of the e-piracy crime that targeted the Qatar News Agency on May 23, 2017, which was committed a few days before the imposition of the unjust and unlawful blockade against the State of Qatar on June 5, 2017.
This came in a statement delivered by HE Qatar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani in an Arria-formula meeting of the UN Security Council on "cyber stability, conflict prevention and capacity building", organized by Estonia, the current chair of the Council, in cooperation with Belgium, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Kenya.
Her Excellency said that it is not an exaggeration to say cyber-attacks may threaten peace, security and stability, especially when targeting sensitive digital services. "In our region, we are currently witnessing a similar threat that came in the wake of the cyber-attack, which targeted an important government institution in my country," referring to the electronic piracy crime, which was sponsored by countries, and targeted Qatar News Agency on May 23, 2017, through which fabricated statements were attributed to the leadership of the State of Qatar.
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