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Gulf States Amplify Anti-Brotherhood Propaganda Following Tunisia’s Political Crisis
A wave of coordinated social media propaganda has flooded Twitter following Tunisian President Kais Saied’s controversial decision to suspend parliament and dismiss the prime minister, according to a comprehensive analysis of online conversations. The propaganda campaign, originating primarily from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, appears designed to frame the president’s actions as a popular uprising against Islamist parties.
An examination of more than 12,000 tweets from 6,800 unique Twitter accounts revealed that the hashtag “Tunisians revolt against the brotherhood” gained significant traction shortly after Saied’s unprecedented move on Sunday. However, digital forensics indicates this activity largely represents manufactured sentiment rather than organic Tunisian public opinion.
The largest party in Tunisia’s parliament, the Islamist Ennahdha party, has described the president’s actions as a “coup.” Yet the social media campaign aims to create a different narrative—one that portrays Saied’s intervention as a necessary step to protect Tunisia from Islamist influence.
Most accounts using the anti-Brotherhood hashtag were traced to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, two nations with established policies opposing Islamist movements throughout the Middle East. The top ten most influential accounts driving the narrative were all Gulf-based influencers, including Emirati commentator Khalid bin Dhahi, Saudi influencer @s_hm2030, Saudi cartoonist Fahad Jubairi, Emirati writer Mohamed Taqi, and a nationalist account called emarati_shield.
Saudi influencer Monther al-Shaykh emerged as particularly influential in the campaign. He went so far as to label Tunisia’s dismissed prime minister as the “Khamenei of Tunisia”—a deliberate comparison to Iran’s Supreme Leader, whom Saudi Arabia has consistently vilified. Al-Shaykh has previously played significant roles in regional disinformation campaigns, including efforts to control narratives after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
“Al-Shaykh has gained a reputation as a primary influencer spreading disinformation and nationalist propaganda on Arabic Twitter,” noted one academic study from Harvard researchers Alexei Abrahams and Andrew Leber, which found that his retweets alone accounted for 8 percent of all engagement on Khashoggi-related hashtags.
The digital campaign also employed technological manipulation. One prominent account with the handle @7__e7 and the name “Fairuz” received hundreds of retweets despite sharing content entirely unrelated to Tunisian politics. Analysis revealed these retweets came from sock-puppet accounts—fake or compromised profiles programmed to automatically amplify content. Many of these accounts showed clear signs of inauthenticity, including one purportedly belonging to a 14-year-old Filipino girl and another using a cartoon Smurf as its profile picture.
The speed of engagement—over 200 retweets within five minutes—strongly suggested automated activity. Twitter eventually suspended the Fairuz account after these irregularities were exposed.
This pattern of manipulation follows a familiar playbook in the region. A small elite of Gulf-based influencers, primarily from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, consistently monopolize Arabic political discussions on Twitter, promoting hyper-nationalist viewpoints and government-aligned narratives. Their reach is artificially extended by networks of trolls and bots that spread propaganda while intimidating critics.
The digital manipulation comes at a critical moment for Tunisia, widely regarded as the lone success story of the 2011 Arab Spring. The country’s fragile democratic transition now faces significant challenges as President Saied consolidates power.
The coordinated propaganda campaign highlights a troubling reality about social media in authoritarian contexts. Rather than serving as a democratizing space for diverse voices, platforms like Twitter often become tools for regimes to project influence beyond their borders. In the Middle East particularly, surveillance capabilities and the willingness of governments to arrest or harm critics has created digital environments where authentic local voices are frequently overwhelmed by state-backed narratives.
As Tunisia navigates this political crisis, the battle for public opinion continues both on the streets and online, with regional powers attempting to shape perceptions in ways that align with their own strategic interests.
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9 Comments
This report highlights the challenges democracies face in the digital age. Foreign actors can so easily manipulate online conversations to suit their interests. I hope Tunisian citizens are able to cut through the noise and make their voices heard, regardless of external influence.
The use of social media to amplify certain political narratives is a growing concern globally. In the case of Tunisia, it seems the goal is to portray the president’s actions as a popular uprising, when the reality may be more complex. Careful analysis of the data is crucial to uncover the truth.
The social media manipulation campaign described in this report is deeply troubling. It underscores the fragility of democratic discourse in the digital age, where false narratives can spread rapidly. I hope Tunisian citizens are able to cut through the noise and make their authentic voices heard during this critical time.
This is a troubling development, with Gulf states apparently trying to sway Tunisian public opinion through coordinated online propaganda. It’s important to maintain a clear, factual understanding of the situation on the ground, rather than getting swept up in false narratives.
This is a concerning example of how social media can be weaponized for political ends. The report highlights the need for increased scrutiny and fact-checking when it comes to online narratives, especially around sensitive political events. Tunisians deserve to have their voices heard, not drown in a sea of foreign-backed propaganda.
The findings in this report are troubling, showing how foreign powers are trying to manipulate public discourse around the situation in Tunisia. In an age of widespread social media use, it’s critical that we remain vigilant against such coordinated disinformation campaigns that seek to obscure the truth.
This is a worrying development, with the report indicating a concerted effort by Gulf states to shape the narrative around the Tunisian political crisis. It underscores the vulnerabilities democracies face in the digital era, where malicious actors can so easily amplify certain perspectives. Vigilance and fact-checking will be essential.
Interesting report on the social media manipulation around the Tunisia crisis. It’s concerning to see foreign actors trying to shape the narrative, rather than letting Tunisians voice their own views. I wonder what the long-term impact of this will be on the country’s democratic transition.
It’s concerning to see the extent of this social media propaganda campaign targeting Tunisia. Maintaining an accurate, nuanced understanding of the situation will be crucial as the country navigates this political crisis. I wonder what can be done to counter such coordinated disinformation efforts.