Hacker attack on Qatar News Agency puts the country's Emir in trouble
According to Qatari officials, the country's official news agency has been hacked and fake statements and news from the country's emir have been published on it. The Qatar News Agency has asked media outlets not to use the hacked material.
On Wednesday (May 24), the official Qatar News Agency Twitter page asked media outlets not to use statements attributed to the country's emir that had previously appeared in the agency. The official Qatar News Agency quoted fake statements quoting Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, on sensitive political issues, including Qatar's relations with Iran, Israel, and the United States.
These statements mention Hamas as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian state and Hezbollah as the representative of the resistance. The fake news also quotes the Emir of Qatar as saying that no one has the right to accuse Qatar of terrorism and deny the role of Hamas and Hezbollah in the resistance because they have classified the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorists.
Fake statements from the Emir of Qatar
Despite the denials of the official Qatar News Agency and the country's authorities, the publication of fake statements by the Emir of Qatar continues in many Arab media outlets.
Statements attributed to the Emir of Qatar claimed that the country has good relations with Israel and that Qatar hopes to play a positive role in establishing peace between Palestine and Israel.
Al Arabiya News Network, a media outlet close to Saudi Arabia, reported that the Emir of Qatar made these remarks at the graduation ceremony of the eighth training course for national service soldiers. However, it has now been revealed that the Emir of Qatar did not speak there at all.
Fake statements by the Emir of Qatar and their denials have caused a lot of noise on social media in the Persian Gulf region. Despite denials by Qatari officials and the country's official news agency, the news and fake statements by the Emir of Qatar have not been removed from the Al Arabiya website.
The Emir of Qatar and his fake statements about Iran
Al Arabiya noted in part of its report that the Emir of Qatar called Iran "a major power for maintaining stability in the region."
The Emir of Qatar has said about Iran: "Qatar has managed to have strong relations with the United States and Iran at the same time, because Iran has a regional and Islamic importance that cannot be ignored, so escalating disputes with this country is not wise. Iran is a great power, cooperation with which will guarantee stability in the region, and Qatar is working towards the stability of neighboring countries."
Qatar has announced that it will investigate the hacking of its official news agency by unknown agents.
Source: DW
