Emirati Ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, stated that Washington's current approach to Gaza is "difficult," adding, "At the end of the day, we're all in a solution-seeking business, we just don't know where it's going to land yet."

Some interpreted his remarks as an implicit endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to relocate 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan. In response, the hashtag "#يوسف_العتيبة_يمثلني" (Yousef Al Otaiba Represents Me) gained traction on social media in support of the ambassador’s stance, raising questions about the authenticity of the engagement.

Arabi Facts Hub analyzed the digital campaign associated with the hashtag to assess its authenticity, examine posting patterns, and determine whether the campaign resulted from organic engagement or was orchestrated to influence public opinion.

The hashtag gained traction between February 14, 2025, at 17:08 (two days after Al Otaiba’s statement) and February 18, 2025, at 20:16. During this period, it amassed 3,899 posts, while engagement included 4,678 likes, 881 replies, 1,862 shares, and 490 interactions. The campaign reached a total of 1,542,204 views.

Spontaneous Support or Coordinated Campaign?

By analyzing engagement patterns, we measured the number of original posts, replies, shares, and quote posts to assess whether the campaign relied on recycled content or organic human interaction. Engagement with the hashtag was categorized into four main types: original posts containing new text or innovative content, replies as direct responses to other posts, shares as reposts from other accounts, and quote posts that included additional commentary on the original posts.

According to data extracted from Meltwater, the campaign recorded 2,178 replies, 1,475 shares, 157 original posts, and 80 quote posts. The results indicate that the campaign heavily relied on recycled content, with shares accounting for 1,475 posts, 40% of total engagement. In contrast, only 157 original posts were published, making up just 4% of overall interaction.

Replies made up the largest portion of engagement, with 2,178 responses, representing 56% of total interactions. This suggests significant human engagement, with a focus on responding to original posts. Meanwhile, quote posts saw the least interaction, with only 80 recorded, constituting 2.1% of total engagement.

These findings suggest that the campaign relied heavily on digital amplification through repeated content sharing, which supports the idea that it was a coordinated effort designed to maximize engagement and spread specific messages widely.

Looking at post distribution throughout the day, we noticed a surge in activity during specific hours, indicating an unusual increase in posting frequency. While engagement remained consistent throughout the day, these sudden spikes suggest possible digital coordination or carefully orchestrated amplification campaigns designed to boost interaction during peak hours.

Data analysis by day revealed that February 16, 2025, experienced a significant spike in the number of posts, marking a sudden surge in activity compared to other days. This increase suggests coordinated or directed efforts, indicating a possible attempt to amplify media attention during a specific timeframe.

Limited Geographical Scope

The UAE topped the list of countries engaging with the hashtag #يوسف_العتيبي_يمثلني“Yousef Al Otaiba Represents Me" with 470 posts, followed by Egypt with 319 posts and Saudi Arabia with 280 posts. Collectively, these three countries accounted for 78.5% of total interactions, reflecting strong regional support for the campaign.

Globally, Western countries such as the United States, which recorded 25 posts, along with Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Germany, also participated. Additionally, Arab countries like Yemen and Iraq contributed 3 and 18 posts respectively.

Overall, the campaign demonstrated strong traction in specific regions, particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, suggesting a targeted effort to amplify its message within these countries.

Sentiment analysis of interactions with the hashtag revealed that neutral and positive sentiments dominated, making up over 80% of the published content, while negative sentiment accounted for only 18%. This trend underscores the campaign’s largely supportive stance toward the UAE ambassador's position.

Automated Posting Patterns

Analyzing the metadata characteristics of users who engaged with the hashtag "Yousef Al Otaiba Represents Me" revealed accounts that may be automated or inauthentic.

We identified accounts with incomplete usernames, unusual names, or numerical sequences as handles, which may indicate automated accounts. Additionally, some participating accounts lacked identifying information, such as a username or profile picture.

Through data analysis, we identified 2,655 accounts engaging with the hashtag that featured numerical usernames or unusual names. Some prominent examples of these accounts include:

• @o0o0o1_20o0o 
• @mmd876623052802
• @badraldwaian 
• @x7q777
• @kalifaalmarri 

The participation of accounts with unusual names, numerical usernames, or those that lack clear identifying information suggests the possibility of them being automated or duplicate accounts. These accounts may have been created specifically to artificially amplify content. Their engagement therefore appears unnatural within a genuine interaction network.


Main Players

When analyzing engagement with the hashtag "Yousef Al Otaiba Represents Me," we focused primarily on cross-analysis of influential account relationships, interaction network analysis, and identifying key accounts that significantly contributed to spreading messages and boosting engagement in the campaign. Through these analyses, we were able to pinpoint central accounts that played a crucial role in directing the campaign on social media platforms like X.

While network analysis did not fully reveal all the main actors behind the campaign, cross-analysis of influential accounts uncovered coordination among them.

This network intersection was analyzed using centrality metrics that highlight accounts with the highest levels of engagement—such as likes, replies, and shares. The most influential accounts identified were:

• @alhamadi_280 which recorded 972 interactions.
• @mr_abo_ali_2 which garnered 970 interactions.
• @o0o0o1_20o0o with 895 interactions.
• @ahme39013 recording 692 interactions.
• @uae9h garnering 573 interactions.

These accounts exhibit a distinct pattern of intensive posting, highlighting their significant role in amplifying messages and expanding the campaign's reach.

A network structure analysis, illustrated visually below, reveals clusters of interconnected accounts that frequently interact with each other. This suggests the presence of separate sub-networks working together to propagate the hashtag in a synchronized manner. Some accounts act as central hubs within each network, significantly contributing to the widespread dissemination of content. Additionally, the visualization indicates that each sub-network exhibits near-total interaction with its central accounts, forming part of a larger network collectively driving the hashtag's spread.

We noticed that influential accounts on the hashtag "#يوسف_العتيبة_يمثلني" ("Yousef Al Otaiba Represents Me") have associations with the UAE and they support its official policies.

One of the most influential accounts is that of Ahmed Al Nuaimi (@ahme39013), who joined X in September 2023. Al Nuaimi has expressed strong support for Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, describing him in a post as "the most powerful and influential ambassador."

Al Nuaimi frequently uses the UAE flag in his posts, and his content consistently supports UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed. For example, he wrote: "You will not find a purer, more loyal, and more faithful leader than my master, Mohammed bin Zayed."

Another account is @alhamadi_280, a personal account of an Emirati user who joined X in February 2015. The account demonstrates strong support for UAE political positions.

Political Messaging of the Campaign

Results of a keyword analysis of the hashtag "#يوسف_العتيبة_يمثلني" (Yousef Al Otaiba Represents Me) on X show that the most frequently used words included "UAE," "His Excellency Sheikh," and "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Some of the frequently used keywords were also "Muslim Brotherhood," "Hamas," and "Al-Aqsa Flood," alongside frequent accusations of terrorism and extremism.The sentiment associated with these terms was largely negative, indicating that campaign supporters were accusing the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas of attempting to discredit Ambassador Al Otaiba.

Regarding emojis, there was a notable increase in the use of symbols representing the UAE and Saudi Arabia, reflecting national identity and regional solidarity expressed by the campaign’s supporters across different areas.

Overall, the keyword analysis revealed a coordinated campaign aimed at shaping public opinion in a deliberate and politically driven manner. The findings indicate that the campaign sought to amplify positive messaging about Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba while attacking opposing entities.