British Website: Digital War Deepens the Strategic Rift Between Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Mutual media escalation reveals a shift in the dispute from political competition to an open regional rupture on multiple fronts
NYN | Reports and Analyses
The British website Middle East Eye, in an analytical report, has revealed that the reciprocal media and digital escalation between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates reflects a transformation of their disagreements from political differences into a full-fledged strategic split, in the wake of the intensifying struggle for influence in Yemen and several other regional arenas.
An Unprecedented Saudi Campaign Against Abu Dhabi
According to the report, Riyadh has recently launched what was described as an unprecedented media campaign targeting the Emirati leadership, accusing it of investing in regional chaos, supporting separatist movements in several Arab countries, and maintaining links with the Zionist project in the region.
An Emirati Response via Washington and Tel Aviv
In contrast, Emirati responses have not come directly, but have instead been channeled through media and political lobbying networks in the United States and Israeli media outlets, in an attempt to influence Western decision-making centers and tarnish Saudi Arabia’s image on sensitive regional files.
Digital Warfare: The New Weapon of Confrontation
The report pointed out that digital warfare has become a central tool in this conflict, amid accusations that the UAE is employing extensive networks of automated accounts and organized media influence campaigns—previously used in similar operations against Qatar and Sudan—to shape public opinion and construct narratives that serve its political agenda.
Regional Repercussions and the Reshaping of Alliances
Regionally, signs of the conflict have begun to appear on the alliance map, with talk of a decline in Emirati influence in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, contrasted with accelerated Saudi moves to build new defense and security arrangements—an indication that the dispute has entered a phase that goes beyond media confrontation and toward the redrawing of geopolitical balances in the region.
