Controversy erupted following statements made by Egypt's Minister of Transport, Kamel El Wazir, in the wake of a tragic accident on the Regional Ring Road. The incident involved a collision between a bus and a heavy transport truck, resulting in the deaths of 18 Egyptian girls. The minister had compared the cost of building roads in Egypt to those in Saudi Arabia, calling for the hiring of “the world’s top consultant” to review the figures, and said: “Go see how much it costs to build a road in Saudi Arabia, and how much we pay for it.”
The remark quickly drew attention. Turki Al Sheikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, reposted the video of Egypt’s Transport Minister on Facebook, adding a sarcastic emoji. He later shared an image quoting the minister’s words, captioned: “No comment… Saudi Arabia ipossible”, in a clear jab at the Egyptian official and his remarks. The post ignited a wave of online sparring, with Egyptian accounts rushing to defend Kamel El Wazir, while Saudi accounts responded by attacking him and hurling insults at Egyptians.
‘Saudi Arabia’ at the Peak of Online Engagement
A Meltwater search found roughly 3,000 posts mentioning both “Kamel El Wazir” and “Saudi Arabia.” Online activity surged to its highest point on July 2, coinciding with the viral spread of El Wazir’s comments about the kingdom.
However, despite the relatively small number of posts, their reach was substantial — generating an estimated 30 million impressions in just three days, averaging 7.55 million per day.
The majority of these posts — around 85% — carried a negative sentiment, with their focus, as reflected in the negative word cloud, centered on Kamel El Wazir’s remarks and his mention of Saudi Arabia and its roads.
Posts originating from Saudi accounts reflected significant involvement, with Saudi Arabia having the highest number of accounts contributing to the activity.
The word cloud of the most common terms in account bios revealed that the majority of accounts participating in posting and engagement were inauthentic, promotional accounts aligned with pro-Saudi narratives.
As for the interaction patterns of these accounts, retweets dominated, accounting for nearly 55% of all posts, while replies made up close to 40%. Original content represented no more than 2% of the total output.
Network of Active Accounts
The above statistics provide clear indicators of the presence of pro–Saudi government accounts actively engaging in discussions around Kamel El Wazir’s remarks and Turki Al Sheikh’s sarcastic response.
Through analyzing post data related to both Kamel El Wazir and Saudi Arabia, we obtained a closer view of the network of accounts interacting with the minister’s statements and Al Sheikh’s reaction.
The network analysis map revealed that most accounts engaged with a single central account, either by commenting on or reposting its content. Surrounding this large central cluster were smaller, loosely connected networks and individual accounts with minimal interlinking.
The network analysis map showed that the majority of accounts engaged with a single central account — that of prominent Saudi journalist Dawood Al Shirian (@alshiriandawood) — with many commenting on or reposting his content. Around this central hub, smaller, less active clusters and scattered accounts emerged. Al Shirian describes himself as a “journalist and TV presenter” and has held several prominent roles in Saudi media, including Deputy Director-General of Al Arabiya, General Manager of MBC Group in Saudi Arabia, and Editor-in-Chief of Al Arabiya Net. He also served as CEO of the Saudi Broadcasting Authority from 2017 to 2019.
Dawood Al Shirian’s post garnered significant engagement, with notable activity from Saudi accounts suspected to be inauthentic. Among these was the account “Alya” (@GHYEr5EyoQ5NHI1), a Saudi profile featuring a string of random characters in its handle. An archive of its posts reveals an impersonal pattern, heavily focused on promoting Saudi-related political propaganda — indicators that strengthen the likelihood of it being a fake account.
Among these accounts was also “Khaled Al Jumaih” (@Shakespear2030), a recently created Saudi account established in 2025. An archive of its posts shows consistent praise for Saudi Arabia and its leadership, alongside hostile attacks on Egyptians using hate speech marked by racism and animosity.
The same pattern appears in the account “HASSAN” (@jayd1445), a recently created Saudi account with a username composed of random letters and a profile picture generated using AI. The account is active in praising Saudi Arabia and reposting inflammatory content related to Egyptian affairs.
Commercial accounts, such as the Saudi advertising and promotion account "Nabd" (@iPulsee\_), also contributed to amplifying Dawood Al Shirian's post. Notably, this account frequently appears in disinformation campaigns, incitement efforts, and hate speech on social media platforms.
Other Saudi Networks Engaged in Hostile Activity
Other connected clusters, situated on the periphery of the central network in the analysis map, are led by different central accounts. These accounts are linked to and interact with Dawood Al Shirian’s account.
Among the most prominent of these accounts is “Nibras” (@nibrasSA1), a Saudi account whose post archive shows consistent activity in promoting political propaganda for Saudi Arabia and its rulers, while attacking anyone who mentions Saudi Arabia — behavior characteristic of coordinated troll activity.
Also participating in the campaign was a commercial account named “THE WOLF OF TASI ™” (@THEWOLFOFTASI), a Saudi account specializing in the Saudi stock market, which engaged with Dawood Al Shirian’s tweet by posting a comment.
Prepared by Ibrahim Helal
