The Economist: The UAE is an example of press freedom suppression
The Economist described the UAE as an explicit model for suppressing the press and freedoms, given the nature of its tyrannical ruling regime.
In a report on press freedoms, the magazine highlighted that all it took was a report comparing the high prices in the UAE to the cheaper gasoline available in neighbouring Oman for the authorities to remove the article from the newspaper’s website immediately.
The magazine indicated that the Emirati authorities decided to dismiss the editor-in-chief and dozens of journalists from the newspaper, and within weeks it was closed.
A UAE government official explained, “If you work in a government institution, you should follow the institution’s line.” Across the Arab world, it is becoming increasingly accurate that the only news allowed is good news.
According to the magazine, the tyrants who swept the Arab Spring in 2011 flattered and intimidated the last of the independent Arab press, making journalists mere mouthpieces. As a result, the final checks on their unrestricted power were silenced.
Autocratic regimes, including the UAE, buy advertising agencies so stray newspapers can immediately be deprived of revenue. Then, as the money ran out, the governments or their friends hijacked the independent outlets.
Some regimes have issued laws banning news considered disturbing social stability. Journalists are tracked down with spyware such as Pegasus, an Israeli-made system that allows government agents to hack their communications. And more journalists, as a last resort, are locked up.
Independent journalists in the Arab world sometimes fear for their lives. The murder and dismemberment of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have frightened many of his peers into silence, estimates the Committee to Protect Journalists, a watchdog.
Wealthy Arab regimes have long financed the media for their coverage. But the fall of such tyrants and the turmoil of others in the region have left countries like the UAE to dominate the Arab market.
