ABU DHABI // The UAE’s enemies were accused on Monday of misusing social media to spread lies that could taint the country’s image and promote terrorism.
Some Arabs used Twitter in particular for political rather than social reasons, Dubai’s deputy chairman of police security told an audience of government officials, including Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, the Minister of Interior.
“Terrorist organisations and armed terrorists are using social media in the worst way possible,” Lt Gen Dhahi Khalfan Tamim said.
There were trivial and foolish rumours about National Day being a celebration for dancers and drunks, and another on a Moroccan woman gaining UAE citizenship, but others threatened conflict in society as they tried to destroy relations between Sunnis and Shiites, Gen Tamim said.
“Rumours were spreading that the UAE has deported Shiites. This is not true, they are very happy and comfortable. But some simple people who are less educated see this and believe it.”
He warned that the people spreading these rumours had a large number of followers.
Another, he said, tweeted that if the UAE had universal suffrage, the Muslim Brotherhood would win the elections. The person who tweeted that was probably Palestinian, he said.
“If the Brotherhood ran a million times, no one would welcome them. The people of the UAE know exactly who to pick.
The UAE was also attacked for preventing Syrians from protesting against Bashar Al Assad outside the Syrian consulate.
“They said we are deporting Syrians and locking them in prisons,” said Gen Tamim. “I swear I did not imprison anyone who protested against Bashar.”
He said the Muslim Brotherhood used religion to promote its political agenda. “When they discovered social media, instead of using it as it is, they used it for political communication.”
He singled out Essam El Erian, a Muslim Brotherhood member with a track record of insulting comments about the UAE.
Gen Tamim showed the audience screen shots of tweets comparing the UAE to Egypt’s old regime.
“We are supports of Hosni [Mubarak] and [Zein El Abidine] Ben Ali,” he read aloud. “Look at the lies. Why all these lies on the UAE?
“Another said Egypt’s security was causing disorder in society, and is so in the UAE. Social media showed the truth about these people.”
Gen Tamim said he supported security checks to identify people who were a threat to national security.
“If security says these are the people that follow blindly the Muslim Brotherhood general guide, how can we allow them to work here?”
Terrorist organisations were also using Twitter to call for protests and spread slogans from Rabaa, the square where pro-Morsi supporters protest in Cairo.
“One mirrored the slogan of Rabaa and found that it resembled a cow,” he said as the audience broke out in laughter. “God didn’t even help them in their slogan.
“I asked Dubai security to set up a force to respond to these, but they said no. So I used my site to fight them.”
Finally, he said, Islamist scholars were also misusing social media, including Yousif Al Qaradawi, whose recent verbal attack on the UAE sparked a diplomatic protest.
“A lot of security officials did not know the possible effects of social media,” he said. “It has good effects. Unfortunately, Arabs use it for political reasons.”
He called on the Government to form a higher committee to fight online attacks against the UAE.
osalem@thenational.ae
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FA CUP FINAL
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Hot Seat
Director: James Cullen Bressack
Stars: Mel Gibson, Kevin Dillon, Shannen Doherty, Sam Asghari
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net
Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.
Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.
A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.
Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.
When is VAR used?
• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
Abu Dhabi GP Saturday schedule
12.30pm GP3 race (18 laps)
2pm Formula One final practice
5pm Formula One qualifying
6.40pm Formula 2 race (31 laps)
TO CATCH A KILLER
Director: Damian Szifron
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ben Mendelsohn, Ralph Ineson
Rating: 2/5
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
RESULT
Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg
Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)
ACC 2019: The winners in full
Best Actress Maha Alemi, Sofia
Best Actor Mohamed Dhrif, Weldi
Best Screenplay Meryem Benm’Barek, Sofia
Best Documentary Of Fathers and Sons by Talal Derki
Best Film Yomeddine by Abu Bakr Shawky
Best Director Nadine Labaki, Capernaum