Inauthentic accounts ask Musk to lift suspension of Saudi Crown Prince's former aide from Twitter

A video surfaced on social media on Sunday 18 June showing Saud al-Qahtani, former senior aide to Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman and prime suspect in the murder of Jamal Kashoggi, in his first public appearance since the Saudi journalist was assassinated in October 2018. The video has led many Twitter accounts to call for the reinstatement of Qahtani’s profile, which was suspended in September 2019 in the aftermath of his suspected role in the crime.

The New Arab (TNA) is able to confirm that the video was shot at a gathering organised by Ahmed al-Obaikan, the maternal uncle of Qahtani, on the night of Saturday 17 June 2023. Additional footage from the same night can be found on the Snapchat account of Obaikan, showing preparations for the meeting, attended by other members of his family. The highlight of the event is the arrival of Qahtani, who is then greeted by his uncle, before being presented with gifts.

The gathering took place at one of Obaikan’s properties within the Az-Zahra district in Jeddah, The New Arab was able to confirm. The building, tagged on Google Maps as the “Palace of Sheikh Ahmed al-Obaikan”, can be seen in the footage shared online by Obaikan. Prominent elements of the property shown in the video, such as its swimming pool and courtyard fountain, also match satellite images at that location.

'The New Arab (TNA) is able to confirm that the video was shot at a gathering organised by Ahmed al-Obaikan, the maternal uncle of Qahtani, on the night of Saturday 17 June 2023.'

Shortly after the video was circulated, Saudi content creator Abdullah AlKhurayef called on Elon Musk to reinstate Qahtani’s Twitter account. In his address to Musk, he stated that “the affection and respect shown to him by Saudi people should be recognized.”

No mention is made in this appeal of Qahtani’s role as Mohammed bin Salman’s ‘media enforcer’ in Saudi Arabia, nor of his usage of an army of online accounts to defend the kingdom’s image online - apparently earning him the nickname of ‘Lord of the [electronic] Flies’.

Other accounts calling for the reinstatement were much more concise in their requests. One such account, with the display name “Asep Al Qahtani”, is one of the first accounts to suggest that the suspension on Qahtani’s profile should be lifted, The New Arab has found. This account addressed Elon Musk some 12 hours before AlKhurayef’s.

This same account seems to have been campaigning for the return of Saud al-Qahtani’s account on the platform as early as November 2022, when Twitter lifted the suspension of Donald Trump’s profile on the back of Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform.

The account claims to be associated with an employee of the governor of West Java Ridwan Kamil. At first glance, this seems to be the case, since the account regularly shares posts featuring the public appearances of the governor, usually presenting them in a very positive light.

The account also frequently shares material featuring Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, in both Indonesian and Arabic. Sometimes, the two statesmen are juxtaposed in the same posts, generally combining photos from events with seemingly little in common.

However, the account displays many of the features associated with inauthentic behaviour. ‘Inauthentic accounts’ attempt to mislead people about their identity or the origin of the entity they represent.

To understand the intentions of the entity operating “Asep Al Qahtani”, it is useful to analyse a second account with the username “@RKmiddleeast”, which The New Arab believes was operated by the same entity. This account uses the display name “RIDWAN KAMIL @ Middle East”, and presents itself as an unofficial fan page of the governor of West Java.

A review of its posts reveals a similar attempt to cast the governor in a positive light for users from the Gulf states, by associating him with the popular image of Mohammed bin Salman. This second account was suspended by Twitter in November 2021, and “Asep Al Qahtani” has publicly asked for its reinstatement at least once since.

The New Arab believes that “Asep Al Qahtani” is part of the same influence operation, and seems to have simply picked up where “@RKmiddleeast” has left off.

'Among the hundreds of accounts asking for Qahtani’s reinstatement on the platform, many use avatars or cover photos that include Mohammed bin Salman. None of these profiles include personal information, and most of their posts recombine material drawn from other sources. These accounts are mostly used to retweet posts from more genuine accounts.'

Such an interest in building influence could be explained by the central role Saudi Arabia plays in the Indonesian economy. Saudi Arabia is Indonesia’s largest trade partner in the Middle East, while being the country’s largest supplier of crude oil and related products.

When contacted by TNA, the office of the Governorate of West Java confirmed via email that "the given name [Asep Qahtani] was not listed as an employee of the West Java Province Governorate."

The New Arab has also identified other accounts displaying similar inauthentic behaviour as part of this campaign.

Among the hundreds of accounts asking for Qahtani’s reinstatement on the platform, many use avatars or cover photos that include Mohammed bin Salman. None of these profiles include personal information, and most of their posts recombine material drawn from other sources. These accounts are mostly used to retweet posts from more genuine accounts.

One way to draw engagement for genuine accounts is to repost the same content in response. The New Arab has found multiple accounts involved in this campaign that have reused the same wording in their requests to Elon Musk. At least one of these accounts is a genuine one, and is associated with Sultan al-Qahtani, a government official within the Saudi Housing Program.

By highlighting and reposting the same content, these accounts are able to create online ‘echo chambers’ that are meant to amplify consenting opinions and make them appear to be more popular than they actually are.

This is also not the first time that multiple Twitter accounts have coalesced in support of Qahtani during his absence from the platform. An earlier campaign praising Qahtani as “hero” was reported by the Guardian back in October 2021, using similar tactics. Posts would include photo tributes to Qahtani, and would share videos featuring the former aide next to the Crown Prince.

By highlighting and reposting the same content, these accounts are able to create online ‘echo chambers’ that are meant to amplify consenting opinions and make them appear to be more popular than they actually are.

It remains to be seen if the campaign to reinstate Saud al-Qahtani’s account is successful. Twitter has recently come under fire for succumbing to pressure from Turkish authorities and accepting to restrict Turkey-related content ahead of the elections it concluded last May.

Update: The New Arab originally reached out to the "Asep Al Qahtani" account to comment on its connection with the governorate of West Java, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

On June 30, "Asep Al Qahtani" responded to The New Arab in a tweet, explaining that "this account is run by Indonesians, but they do not claim to be West Java Provincial Government employees, but as support volunteers (who are only fans, not government employees)." The account also introduced itself as "a fan" of the Saudi Crown Prince.

Interestingly, the wording used in Arabic for describing "Asep Al Qahtani"'s profile is identical to a tweet posted by Saud al-Qahtani himself in 2017, in which he justified his actions as being those of "an employee and a faithful executor of the orders of my masters, the King and His Highness the faithful Crown Prince". The only difference being that "Asep Al Qahtani" presents itself as being an executor of the West Java governor's orders.