Are Saudi Arabia, UAE Behind Fake Online Accounts Targeting Sudan’s Uprising?

Social media has played a noticeable role in the Sudan youth-led uprisings from the beginning of the protests until it toppled the regime in April, allowing a civilian-military transitional government to take control of the country until a transitional period ends.

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However, for a couple of days after the new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was sworn into office, a wave of new accounts claiming to be Sudanese and part of the uprising have been noticed on Twitter by the revolution activists.

According to one Twitter account that has been actively covering the Sudan uprising, dozens of suspicious accounts have been emerging on Twitter recently and they all address the same ideas; including the most noticeable one which is sharing conspiracy theories about Qatar’s intervention in Sudan’s politics in the post-revolution time.

Translation: “A new wave of fake “Sudanese” accounts with the same profile picture of the head of the TMC, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan or fake images and they share fake news. What is interesting is that all of these accounts are old, from 2013 and 2014, which means those accounts were run by different people and now it changed its activity. This is not a Sudanese thing, this is some work done by neighboring countries”.

The tweet has brought attention to the issue and led many people to jump on the story and share screenshots of the suspicious accounts that are targeting the revolution activists’ accounts.

Translation: “Many of them had followed me yesterday at the same time. It’s clear from their way of writing they are not Sudanese and they all follow the same accounts and retweet the same posts.”

Translation: “Four or three of them had followed me yesterday.”

The trend gathered momentum and more people have issued warnings against the fake accounts that aim at sharing fake news and disrupting the activism of Sudanese people who are still protesting to ensure a transition to civilian rule.

Translation: “The so-called the “Union of Sudan Twitter Users” is a gathering of electronic bots. Report and block please as they aim at destabilizing Sudan. Share it and be careful of such accounts.”

Meanwhile, users have shared speculations that those accounts are paid by the governments who have the most benefit in shaping a destabilized and fragile Sudan.

Translation: “Accounts like this are mentioning accounts tweeting about a conspiracy theory on Qatar.”

It has no secret that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have had played a role in Sudan politics since the days of the previous President, Omar Bashir. They have offered financial and militant support to the military council.