An Opaque, Massive, Yet Precisely Targeted Discrediting Operation
For several weeks, a methodical and multifaceted information offensive appears to have established itself in the shadowy corners of social media, directly targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding their alleged role in the Sudanese conflict, and more specifically their supposed logistical or financial support for the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Recent investigations conducted by several independent observers, partially relayed by discreet think tanks, have uncovered an anti-UAE campaign fuelled by a constellation of anonymous accounts, coordinated across multiple platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, employing well-oiled narratives and systematic use of talking points.
The accusations? Vague, yet recurring. The evidence? Consistently absent.
Well-Distributed Talking Points, Even Reaching the BBC
What strikes one about this campaign is less its content (yet another attempt to link Abu Dhabi to regional destabilisation) than the sophistication of its operational methods. Everything suggests that orchestrating this disinformation does not stem from spontaneous activism or militant diaspora efforts.
We are discussing dozens of accounts created in rapid succession, relaying identical messages translated into multiple languages, and flooding the comments sections of official publications. Even more concerning: certain indicators point to an attempted narrative infiltration of mainstream media, with anonymous requests sent to the BBC asking them to adopt these unfounded accusations in an "independent investigation" format.
Thus far, no serious institutional outlet has endorsed the accusations against the Emirates. Neither at the UN nor within American agencies, which is surprising considering the campaign's scope. Yet certain commentators continue speaking of "imminent sanctions" against Abu Dhabi.
The IHC-DFC Agreement: Silent Demonstration of the Abu Dhabi-Washington Axis
However, facts remain stubborn. Sometimes a discrete communiqué suffices to collapse an entire narrative.
Yesterday, far from media tumult, IHC (International Holding Company), the Emirati state giant, signed a strategic agreement with the DFC (U.S. International Development Finance Corporation), one of Washington's key economic instruments abroad.
This substantial economic partnership, officially endorsed and celebrated by both sides, reveals the maintenance of solid strategic cooperation between the Emirates and the United States, in complete contradiction to rumours of sanctions and supposed tensions.
This financial rapprochement is anything but trivial. It occurs precisely when certain activist circles were attempting to impose the idea of Abu Dhabi's growing isolation on the international stage. In other words: while we hear talk of punishment, agreements flourish. While we are sold tensions, cross-investments increase.
Who Benefits from Amplifying Suspicion?
We must pose the only question that matters: who benefits from this anti-UAE campaign?
We cannot exclude that this operation serves competing interests in the region, whether linked to Turkey, Qatar, or certain transatlantic networks close to American Democrats, eager to contain Abu Dhabi's growing influence in the Red Sea regions, the Sahel, and beyond.
It is also possible this represents a preemptive strategy: diplomatically weakening the Emirates before a major negotiation, or to disrupt military agreements in development.
Weak signals abound: temporary airspace closures, sudden fluctuations in certain regional stock indices, and this sudden multiplication of "prepared" articles in certain Anglo-Saxon media with headlines more accusatory than their actual content.
Parallel Diplomacy in the Social Media Era
This new episode reveals a disturbing reality of our time: social networks have become weapons of parallel diplomacy, capable of creating effects of reality where only suspicion exists.
In this affair, the United Arab Emirates appears primarily as the target of a narrative construction, whose source remains to be identified, but whose timing is anything but fortuitous.
And while some brandish threats of non-existent sanctions, the facts confirm the permanence of alliances. Those who hoped to see Abu Dhabi weakened will be disappointed: Washington, in reality, continues to bet on Emirati power, and the anti-UAE campaign, despite its technical sophistication, is already beginning to exhaust itself under the weight of its contradictions.