Thursday, April 25, 2013

Gulf media notes: 1

There's been a story circulating for over a week that Saudi Arabia deported three men from the UAE for being "too handsome." In terms of truth, the story stinks to high heaven. It doesn't sound right, and no one can produce an original source for it (note: saying it was an Arab language newspaper "Elaph" doesn't count). Our own view is that it's being circulated to distract attention from an actual documented event involving a Dubai resident Egyptian woman who was involved in a plausible and widely witnessed incident at the same festival -- Janadriyah -- at which the alleged deportations took place.

But the supposedly edgy media would rather chase the more implausible story, especially when they can show off the capability to stack tweets and write a few words around it.

UPDATE: There is zero evidence that Omar Borkan al Gala was one of the three deported men but since the claim that he was has "gone viral," it must be true, right?