Doha. The Qatari Ministry of Interior says 313 people have been arrested for filming unauthorised videos and sharing what it described as ‘misleading information’ relating to recent security developments.
According to the Qatari government, Iran fired ten ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles at targets in Qatar. The Gulf state’s air defence intercepted six of the ballistic missiles and both cruise missiles. Two further missiles fell into the sea within Qatar’s territorial waters and two struck an uninhabited area. No casualties were officially reported, according to the newspaper Türkiye Today.
Similar action against the publication of attack footage has also been reported in other Gulf states. In Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, people have likewise been arrested or warned for publishing videos showing strikes or damage.
Only official channels
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said on Monday that Doha felt betrayed by Iran. The government’s official account, distributed exclusively through authorised channels, continues to maintain that most of the missiles missed their targets and that residents should remain calm. Unofficial recordings, including videos filmed and shared by residents during the incident, are treated as criminal offences. Many Gulf states had already introduced strict cybercrime and ‘fake news’ laws even before the current crisis. It is likely that Qatar is applying precisely those laws in this case.
The Ministry of Interior said those detained had recorded or circulated videos and spread rumours or misleading information that could influence public opinion or cause panic, according to the broadcaster Channels Television. Authorities also called on the public not to film or distribute videos or photographs of military events. Unconfirmed information should likewise not be shared. Citizens were urged to rely solely on official state sources. The message was circulated through Doha News Qatar.
The question of security
On the one hand, it is common practice in war zones and crisis areas to prohibit the recording of images or sound from military operations. Similar restrictions apply in Ukraine during Russian strikes and in Israel during rocket attacks. NATO likewise forbids recordings during certain military operations. While photographing or filming military installations is rightly prohibited because publication could pose a security risk, other restrictions are more problematic.
Governments argue that footage of military attacks can create security risks. Images or videos may reveal details about impact sites, infrastructure or military responses that could potentially be analysed by adversaries. That argument is understandable. At the same time, information independent of official narratives can emerge from satellite imagery, foreign journalists or diplomatic sources. Such information may at times contradict government messaging.
How Qatar intends to deal with such discrepancies is unclear. Direct images from eyewitnesses remain an important source that can confirm or challenge official accounts. In any case, a genuine monopoly on information is unlikely to be achieved.
How liberal is Qatar?
One particularly sensitive point is the instruction that the public should rely only on official state sources. Such a demand opens the door to propaganda. In the case of Qatar, a state that seeks close economic ties with Western countries and often presents itself as open and relatively liberal, uncomfortable questions arise. What does this mean for freedom of information and transparency? Is the country’s defensive capability perhaps not as strong as claimed? Is it really true that the two missiles landed in an uninhabited area? And why would Iran choose to strike such a location?
If only state authorities are allowed to report on military events, the public has little opportunity to obtain independent information about the true scale of an attack. At the same time, many governments argue in conflict situations that uncontrolled publication of videos or location data could endanger military operations or provide tactical clues to hostile forces. The challenge is to strike a balance between security interests, military secrecy and the public’s need for information.
Given the large number of arrests – 313 people – it is reasonable to ask whether that balance has truly been maintained. Does the supposedly liberal Qatar reveal a rather less liberal face of a Gulf monarchy? When assessing the country in future – particularly as it seeks to establish itself as a business partner of Western states, not least in the trade of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) – that question is likely to play an important role.