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Saud al-Qahtani was an advisor to the royal court and general supervisor of the Center for Studies and Information Affairs (at the time of writing).” He used similarly manipulated trends in Qatar to indirectly threaten the Qatari authorities and engage in coup-bating (the use of propaganda to encourage regime change). On August 21, 2017, al-Qahtani (2017b) tweeted “The top trend in Qatar now is #LeaveTamim.”® With this tweet, al-Qahtani included a screenshot of Twitter’s trending topics, as if to alleviate any doubt about the veracity of his statement (see Figure 9). 7 Al-Qahtani was demoted following his alleged role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

Figure 9 Saud al-Qahtani was an advisor to the royal court and general supervisor of the Center for Studies and Information Affairs (at the time of writing).” He used similarly manipulated trends in Qatar to indirectly threaten the Qatari authorities and engage in coup-bating (the use of propaganda to encourage regime change). On August 21, 2017, al-Qahtani (2017b) tweeted “The top trend in Qatar now is #LeaveTamim.”® With this tweet, al-Qahtani included a screenshot of Twitter’s trending topics, as if to alleviate any doubt about the veracity of his statement (see Figure 9). 7 Al-Qahtani was demoted following his alleged role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

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Table 1. Summary of Search Terms and Samples That Form the Basis of the Data for This Article. Note. The hashtags here are certainly not exhaustive. Hundreds of hashtags contaminated by bots existed during the crisis, but for this study, a smaller sample was used to facilitate a more qualitative analysis. * Values are approximate.
Table 1. Summary of Search Terms and Samples That Form the Basis of the Data for This Article. Note. The hashtags here are certainly not exhaustive. Hundreds of hashtags contaminated by bots existed during the crisis, but for this study, a smaller sample was used to facilitate a more qualitative analysis. * Values are approximate.
Figure 1. Twitter accounts mentioning Qatar by month and year of creation, sampled May 27, 2017.
Figure 1. Twitter accounts mentioning Qatar by month and year of creation, sampled May 27, 2017.
Figure 2. Twitter accounts mentioning Qatar by month and year of creation, sampled January 1, 2018.
Figure 2. Twitter accounts mentioning Qatar by month and year of creation, sampled January 1, 2018.
All the infographics had a similar aesthetic quality, containing a limited color palette and lists of various derogatory entries about Qatar. Figure 4 is a typical example of this. It is titled “Qatar Media Snake” and lists numerous journalists and public figures based in Qatar, including Wadah Khanfar, Azmi Bishara, and David Hearst. It is interesting to note that while none of these figures has been singled out in the 13 demands made by the Quartet, all of them work for or have contributed to the outlets singled out in the demands. various derogatory entries about Qatar. Figure 4 is a typical example of this. It is titled “Qatar Media Snake”
All the infographics had a similar aesthetic quality, containing a limited color palette and lists of various derogatory entries about Qatar. Figure 4 is a typical example of this. It is titled “Qatar Media Snake” and lists numerous journalists and public figures based in Qatar, including Wadah Khanfar, Azmi Bishara, and David Hearst. It is interesting to note that while none of these figures has been singled out in the 13 demands made by the Quartet, all of them work for or have contributed to the outlets singled out in the demands. various derogatory entries about Qatar. Figure 4 is a typical example of this. It is titled “Qatar Media Snake”
Figure 4. Infographic entitled “Qatar Media Snake.”
Figure 4. Infographic entitled “Qatar Media Snake.”
Table 3. Thematic Analysis of Bot-Swarm Tweeting on “Al Jazeera Insults King Salman” Hashtag.
Table 3. Thematic Analysis of Bot-Swarm Tweeting on “Al Jazeera Insults King Salman” Hashtag.
Figure 5. Tweet containing a screenshot of a fake Reuters article.
Figure 5. Tweet containing a screenshot of a fake Reuters article.
Figure 6. Accounts mentioning the hashtag # c#4«_¥ «i @« “(Our hearts are with Tamim but not the two Hamads) by month and year of creation, sampled January 12, 2018. An analysis of the hashtag shows a large spike in account creation in April 2017, when more than 485 accounts were created. Of these, 463 were created on the same day: April 2, 2017.
Figure 6. Accounts mentioning the hashtag # c#4«_¥ «i @« “(Our hearts are with Tamim but not the two Hamads) by month and year of creation, sampled January 12, 2018. An analysis of the hashtag shows a large spike in account creation in April 2017, when more than 485 accounts were created. Of these, 463 were created on the same day: April 2, 2017.
Most are from Qatar, closely followed by Saudi Arabia. The fact that many of the bots are tweeting from Qatar will likely impact Twitter’s trending algorithm to show that this hashtag is trending in Qatar. The fact that the hashtag was trending in Qatar was used by critics of Qatar to demonstrate Qatari opposition to the “two Hamads.” The tweet shown in Figure 8, from the account Mulaak Mohammed/@Ho0213De (2018), states “praise be to God there is consciousness among some Qataris; they are starting to understand the scum that is the two Hamads.” fact that the hashtag was trending in Qatar was used by critics of Qatar to demonstrate Qatari opposition
Most are from Qatar, closely followed by Saudi Arabia. The fact that many of the bots are tweeting from Qatar will likely impact Twitter’s trending algorithm to show that this hashtag is trending in Qatar. The fact that the hashtag was trending in Qatar was used by critics of Qatar to demonstrate Qatari opposition to the “two Hamads.” The tweet shown in Figure 8, from the account Mulaak Mohammed/@Ho0213De (2018), states “praise be to God there is consciousness among some Qataris; they are starting to understand the scum that is the two Hamads.” fact that the hashtag was trending in Qatar was used by critics of Qatar to demonstrate Qatari opposition
Figure 8. Tweet from an account seeking to highlight Qatar’s opposition to the two Hamads by circling the locations of Twitter users (bots).
Figure 8. Tweet from an account seeking to highlight Qatar’s opposition to the two Hamads by circling the locations of Twitter users (bots).
Related topics:
International RelationsCommunicationMiddle East StudiesPolitical ScienceInformation WarfareMiddle East PoliticsArab Gulf PoliticsTwitter Bots
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