Qatar arrests 313 people for sharing footage, ‘misleading information’ amid attacks by Iran

Qatari authorities have arrested more than 300 people for sharing images and what they described as “misleading information” during days of attacks by Iran, the interior ministry said on Monday.

The arrests echo measures across the Gulf as Iran targets airports, military bases, energy installations and residential areas with daily drones and missiles.

Those arrested “filmed and circulated video clips and published misleading information and rumours that could stir public opinion”, a statement said.

The people of “various nationalities” were held by the Department for Combating Economic and Cyber Crimes at the ministry’s General Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

The announcement follows a spate of arrests elsewhere in the region.

In Bahrain, four people were arrested for “filming and broadcasting clips about the effects of Iranian attacks and spreading false news”, the interior ministry said on Friday.

And in Kuwait, authorities on Saturday said three people had been arrested over a video showing them mocking the situation in the country.

Residents in the United Arab Emirates have received text messages warning of possible legal action for sharing sensitive images or “reposting unreliable information”.

The UAE attorney general’s office also warned against “filming, publishing, or circulating images and videos documenting incident sites or damage caused by falling projectiles or shrapnel”, the Emirates News Agency said.

Saudi Arabia has issued similar warnings.

Despite the warnings, images of missiles, drones and the fallout of the war continue to circulate on social media and in group chats.