Middle East

TikToker Busted in Dubai Over Viral Supercar Spending Video

‘ABUSING THE INTERNET’

The clip showed the influencer handing out cash to showroom staff and asking for the most expensive vehicle.

TikTok influencer Hamdan Al Rind has been arrested in Dubai over a satirical video in which he posed as an Emirati on a wild supercar spending spree.
Mohammed Salem/Reuters

A popular TikToker has been arrested in Dubai over a satirical viral video in which he pretended to be an uber-wealthy Emirati on a manic supercar spending spree. The footage shows Hamdan Al Rind, who has over 2.6 million followers on TikTok, demanding to buy the most expensive vehicles in a showroom as his assistants follow him around carrying a stretcher of cash. An ambiguous law in Dubai prohibits any speech—including satire—which is considered insulting to the United Arab Emirates or critical of authorities. The Federal Prosecution for Combating Rumors and Cybercrimes said Al Rind is accused of “abusing the internet” and that his video “promotes a wrong and offensive mental image of Emirati citizens and ridicules them.”

Read it at The Associated Press