More than 180,000 identical Arabic hashtags appeared within a 48‑hour window, a pattern that Dubai authorities say revealed a coordinated online effort to undermine confidence in products labelled “Made in UAE.” The campaign, which was dismantled on 20 December, targeted not just individual snacks or detergents but the broader trade relationship between the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. According to the Dubai Media Office, the operation originated from social‑media accounts linked to nations hostile to both Gulf states. The office warned that anyone repeating the allegations would face criminal prosecution.
The stakes are tangible: Jebel Ali Free Zone, commonly known as Jafza, ranks among the region’s largest industrial complexes. Factories there manufacture food, cosmetics and household items that are distributed throughout the Gulf.
A loss of Saudi consumer trust in Emirati‑made goods could immediately jeopardise jobs, contracts and supply chains that depend on the reputation of the “Made in UAE” label. The smear spread through anonymous Instagram stories and Twitter threads that circulated for weeks. Posts displayed well‑known snack, dairy and detergent brands bearing the UAE origin stamp, accompanied by claims of toxic ingredients, counterfeit packaging and the dumping of expired stock in Saudi supermarkets.
Influential Gulf lifestyle accounts were tagged to amplify the message, and users were urged to boycott the products. The activity intensified sharply on 17 December, coinciding with a Saudi consumer‑programme segment on product safety.
Dubai Media Office analysts detected a sudden rise in the identical hashtags #UAE_fake_goods and #Jafza_poison. Within two days those tags had been reused more than 180,000 times. Many of the accounts pushing the tags had been created only days earlier.
A DMO source told the state news agency WAM that the speed and uniformity of the messaging indicated clear coordination. In response, the Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology released batch‑testing data on 19 December.
The authority had examined 1,400 food and cosmetic product lines produced in Jafza during 2019. Every sample met the Gulf Standardisation Organisation’s limits for contaminants and shelf‑life marking. Esma director general Abdulla Al Maeeni stated that the rumours “contradict documented laboratory facts,” asserting that the allegations are false and supported by concrete test results.
