Why are influencers in Dubai all saying the same thing?
Dubai: The ‘City of Likes’ populated by professional influencers who have a new reality to face. War.
Armed with their iPhones and TikTok accounts, these stars of social media are doing what they do best – feeding us propaganda on how rosy and nice their world is.
On Saturday, LA-native Mike Babayan told his 201,000 followers he was ‘stuck in the middle of WW3’. But days later, the 23-year-old was much more relaxed about the situation.
Describing his reaction after a blast echoed across the Burj Khalifa, he said: ‘Everyone was shocked for a minute then went back to their food like nothing happened.’
His attitude to what is happening in the Middle East is not unique. Many influencers have returned to sunbathing and working out, but they have also come up with a polished narrative about what is currently happening as the situation between Israel, the US and Iran intensifies.
A narrative that matches the official government line of absolute calm.
‘Streets are full, restaurants and cafes are packed – it’s almost like nothing ever happened,’ Mike told Metro.
We have found multiple users that post near-identical videos that fit the same story: The UAE is doing a good job protecting us.
They follow a similar, rigid template: ‘You live in Dubai. Aren’t you scared?’ followed by ‘No, I know who protects us’.
But here’s the rub. The nation that is ‘protecting’ them also has limited freedom of expression.
Dubai’s Creator HQ has 2,500 members reaching 2.5 billion people. It costs £3,000 to get a licence, but punishment for breaching your conditions are severe.
Anyone found to be sharing ‘rumours’ that damage the economy can be fined £200,000.
Dr Zoe Hurley, from the American University of Sharjah in the UAE, says many influencers are simply protecting their precarious livelihoods.
She said: ‘They have no fixed salaries or safety nets, so they must maximise their earning potential by promoting the city.’
Former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison is one such celebrity sticking to the shtick. Over the weekend she appeared to be terrified, but now she’s claiming reports were ‘hyperbolic’, toeing the official line that damage was just falling debris.
Petra Ecclestone initially posted: ‘We came to Dubai to feel safe, and we finally felt like we were settling in, and now this has happened.’
Days later she posted: ‘This is what safety feels like. This is what resilience looks like. This is UAE.’
She added: ‘Covid. Floods. Missiles. Every time, the same story told differently, the world watching, waiting for Dubai to break. Every time, the same answer. It didn’t.’
It isn’t just regular influencers and reality TV stars who are pushing this message. The President of the UAE and Crown Prince of Dubai took an ‘impromptu’ walk through a shopping mall on Monday – striking a tone of the top-down mandate of ‘normalcy’.
Omar Al-Ghazzi, an associate professor of media at the London School of Economics, says a message ‘nothing to see here’ is being pushed upon the world.
He told Metro: ‘Some joked that it is people in Europe who should be afraid of theft and murder, rather than those in Dubai who live in safety and calm.
Dr Sreya Mitra, also from the American University of Sharjah, said this repetitive narrative isn’t unique to western influencers.
She has seen similar content from many South Asian influencers. She said: ‘They consistently reaffirm their faith in the UAE government and leadership, often recalling their prompt and proactive response during earlier moments of crisis, like the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2024 Dubai floods.’
As Dr Hurley stressed: ‘They are not sending the message that this is business as usual. This is the Dubai version of “keep calm and carry on”.’
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