Twitter is promoting anonymous posts attacking Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup just as it faces scrutiny over the limited disclosure of information about political advertising linked to Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
The online assaults on Qatar promote the talking points of four Arab nations who in June cut ties with the first Middle East host of the World Cup.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began a boycott of Qatar on June 5 over allegations that Doha supports extremists and has overly warm ties to Iran.
But the Twitter users who received the posts accusing Qatar of supporting extremism alongside images of World Cup preparations are offered no indication of the authors. Twitter declined to discuss the accounts — KickQatarOut and QatarExposed.
