UAE orders arrests of 35, including 19 Indians, for posting misleading content online
Dubai (PTI): The UAE on Sunday ordered the arrest of 35 individuals, including 19 Indians, for publishing video clips on social media platforms that contained misleading and fabricated content amid regional tensions due to the Israel-US-Iran war.
The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) official news agency Wam said the accused have been referred for an expedited trial.
The latest list has 25 individuals of various nationalities, including 17 Indians, listed under different sections, separate from the 10 people, including two Indians, who were named and ordered to be arrested on Saturday.
According to a statement released by the Attorney-General Dr Hamad Saif Al Shams, the move follows rigorous monitoring of digital platforms to combat the spread of fabricated information and artificial content intended to incite public disorder and undermine general stability.
“Investigations and electronic monitoring revealed that the defendants were divided into three groups that committed various acts. These included the publication of real clips related to current events, the fabrication of clips using AI, and the promotion of a state practising acts of military aggression while glorifying its leadership and military actions,” it said.
The first group of 10 accused published and circulated authentic video clips documenting the passage and interception of missiles on the country’s airspace or the resulting impact. They also filmed gatherings of individuals monitoring these events, appending commentary and sound effects suggesting active aggressions to incite public anxiety and panic.
Such footage risked exposing defensive capabilities and allowing hostile accounts to promote misleading narratives, the statement said.
ALSO READ: Modi diminishing BRICS+ presidency value to appease Trump, Netanyahu: Congress
This group comprised five Indians, one Pakistani, one Nepali, two Filipinos, and one Egyptian.
The second group published fabricated visual content created through AI or recirculated footage of incidents from outside the country while falsely claiming they occurred within it. These clips contained synthetic scenes of explosions and missiles, often featuring national flags or specific dates to grant credibility to false claims and mislead the public, it said.
This group, comprising seven individuals, includes five Indians and one each from Nepal and Bangladesh.
The third group of six accused published content glorifying a hostile state and its political and military leadership, promoting its regional military aggressions as achievements. This involved praising leaders of that state and recirculating propaganda that serves hostile media discourse and harms national interests, the statement added.
In this, five of the six accused are Indians, and one is Pakistani.
Two other individuals, both Indians, also face charges for similar offences, the statement said.
Earlier on Saturday, a Wam report quoted Attorney-General Shamsi as saying that the public prosecution has commenced interrogating the 10 defendants and ordered their remand in custody.
The attorney-general explained that such acts constitute crimes punishable under the law by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and a fine of no less than AED 1,00,000.
“Such events have been exploited to disseminate misinformation intended to deliberately mislead the public while undermining national security, order and stability,” he said.
Dr Al Shamsi said the under trial circulated fabricated footage created using AI to falsely suggest explosions, strikes on prominent landmarks, or large fires with rising smoke across various areas of the UAE.
“The incidents also involved exploiting children’s emotions in videos falsely implying security threats. Other footage claimed the destruction of military facilities within the country or attributed foreign incidents to UAE locations, aiming to mislead public opinion and spread anxiety,” Shamsi added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani to be India's next Chief of Defence Staff
New Delhi (PTI): Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani will be India's new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and his key task is set to be to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy.
He will succeed Gen Anil Chauhan whose tenure will come to an end on May 30.
Gen Chauhan, a former Eastern Army Commander, took charge as the country's senior-most military commander in September 2022, over nine months after the first CDS, General Bipin Rawat, died in a helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu.
The government has appointed Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as the Chief of Defence Staff, who will also function as the secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, the defence ministry said on Saturday.
Lt Gen Subramani is currently serving as the military adviser to the National Security Council Secretariat.
Prior to that, he was the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025, and was General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Command from March 2023 till June 2024.
As Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen Subramani's primary task will be to implement the theaterisation model to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands.
The officer is a graduate of the National Defence Academy and the Indian Military Academy. He was commissioned into the eighth battalion of the Garhwal Rifles on December 14, 1985.
Lt Gen Subramani is an alumnus of Joint Services Command Staff College, Bracknell (UK), and the National Defence College, New Delhi. He holds a Master of Arts degree from King's College London and an MPhil in defence studies from Madras University.
In his illustrious career spanning over 40 years, Lt Gen Subramani has served across a wide spectrum of conflict and terrain profiles and tenanted a host of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
He commanded the 16 Garhwal Rifles in Counter-Insurgency operations in Assam as part of Operation Rhino, the 168 Infantry Brigade in Jammu and Kashmir, and the 17 Mountain Division in the Central Sector, all during a challenging operational environment.
He also has the distinction of commanding two Corps, including the Indian Army's premier strike Corps on the Western Front.
