Following Saudi officer Salem Al Qahtani's criticism of government policies and announcement of his defection, a coordinated Saudi campaign was launched. Engaging a wide network of accounts known for their involvement in political propaganda for the government and the Saudi Crown Prince, the campaign propagated claims that Al Qahtani had been missing for months, labeling him as "mentally disturbed," "addicted," and even as a "Kharijite." Influencers and media personalities, some affiliated with official media outlets and television stations, also joined the campaign.

In mid-February, Saudi Air Force officer Salem Al Qahtani appeared in a video announcing his defection and voicing opposition to government policies. He remarked, "The country is experiencing rapid change, yet we hear about massive projects every day... and years have passed without seeing anything on the ground." Al Qahtani, who served in the Air Force for 6 years, stationed between Khamis Mushait and Riyadh, criticized the "protection of those in power under the guise of selective religious discourse." He also spoke about the deteriorating conditions of military personnel and retirees, while "hundreds of millions are spent on events that do not offer real value."

Following the video's circulation, Al Qahtani's name became popular on Twitter, garnering over 6,000 tweets with more than 21,500 interactions and viewed by 6 million followers, potentially reaching around 13 million views.

The hashtag #TraitorsOfTheNation regained momentum, fueled by 8,000 tweets, generating 25,800 interactions and viewed at least 1.9 million times, potentially reaching a visibility range of 20 million, according to Meltwater, a leading social media content analysis platform.

Activity on hashtags #TraitorsOfTheNation and #SalemAlQahtani - Meltwater

On the hashtag #TraitorsOfTheNation alone, the retweet rate of posts reached 71 percent, with over 4,000 tweets out of 8,000, from accounts with unknown geographic locations, indicating signs of non-organic activity.

The most prominent tweets by country on the hashtag #TraitorsOfTheNation - Meltwater

The Most Influential

The hashtag #TraitorsOfTheNation first appeared on tweets by Egyptian and Gulf accounts in 2013, but it has been dominated by Saudi discourse in recent years, particularly in campaigns against critics who reside outside the kingdom.

In the campaign against Salem Al Qahtani, at least 5852 accounts participated through the hashtag. Prominent activity in the campaign included accounts known for their involvement in promoting the kingdom's policies and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as tarnishing opponents. They engaged in inauthentic activities manipulating posting policies on Twitter, sometimes resulting in the closure, hacking, or seizure of accounts.

The most influential accounts in the campaign have tens of thousands, if not millions, of followers, such as the preacher Aid Al Qarni in addition to "Al Rad’ Al Saudi” (Saudi deterrence), Columbus, Thomas, Turnip, and Zahranko.

These accounts promoted various narratives about Salem Al Qahtani, mostly portraying him as "mentally ill" and "disobedient to his mother," after his disappearance and departure from the kingdom to Canada.

In promoting this narrative, accounts relied on a tweet from an account named Ali Al Qahtani @aliyaco17041563, on January 16th, claiming: "#SalemAlQahtani has been missing near Riyadh for several weeks. His sick mother appeals to good natured people to search for him." The tweet claimed Salem was suffering from a mental condition. Opposition accounts questioned the timing of the tweet in relation to the emergence of Al Qahtani's defection video, describing what Ali Al Qahtani wrote as a "preemptive" tweet out of fear of his defection, according to the opposition.

Ali Al Qahtani's account does not specify his exact relationship with Salem and has posted over 530 tweets since its creation in October 2022. The tweets include quotations, prayers, and Quranic verses.

Repetitive Content and Hate Speech

The posts about Salem Al Qahtani contained repetitive content shared by many accounts participating in the campaign. This included a widely circulated screenshot of a tweet by Ali Al Qahtani and carefully crafted video clips attacking Salem Al Qahtani, describing him as "mentally disturbed," "addicted," "deviant," and having a "criminal record."

Some accounts appear to repost tweets referring to the "Salmani Army" and various "Out of Context" accounts that have emerged on X in recent months. They typically capture negative comments by Arab accounts that are directed against Saudi Arabia, sparking angry Saudi reactions.

Some accounts celebrated the temporary suspension of Salem Al Qahtani's account. The reason for the account's suspension is not clear; it may have been due to a reporting campaign, as suggested by the tone of a tweet from the accounts Al Ruwita'i and Hani Sneytan, who identifies himself as a "contemporary patriot" and shares similar content with accounts involved in Saudi propaganda campaigns.

The campaign also targeted government critics residing outside the kingdom, using derogatory words and phrases, some likening them to animals, such as "insects, dogs, cows, trash, rogue tools, mercenaries, traitors, sick."

In addition, accounts participating in the campaign celebrated and shared posts and videos in which social media influencers and journalists from official television stations appeared, expressing their opinions in relation to Salem Al Qahtani's defection announcement. Among them were the influential figure known as Shahd and the news anchor of Al Ekhbariya channel, Rafe’ Al Omari.