Mike Babayan was in a hookah lounge when he heard the explosion on Saturday night. Dubai, a gilded playground for the ultra-rich billed as one of the safest places on Earth, had been attacked by Iranian missiles. Phones lit up with emergency messages urging residents to take shelter, but within minutes, partying resumed. 'Everyone just went back to their hookah and food a minute later,' said Babayan.
Babayan, 23, moved from his home in the Burj Khalifa to a residence further from the city centre as a precaution. There, he could hear explosions every 20 to 30 minutes. 'But everyone is just having coffees, walking around like there’s no care in the world. It’s pretty insane,' he said. Originally from Los Angeles, Babayan documents his life as a day-trader to nearly 150,000 TikTok followers, flexing BMWs and a million-dollar apartment. Over the weekend, he shifted to commentating on the strikes in direct-to-camera style, combating misinformation such as an AI-generated video of the Burj Khalifa burning.
Babayan also showed off, claiming Dubai remained safer than New York, Los Angeles and London. 'Where else can I walk around at night wearing my $60,000 watch undisturbed?' he asked. 'I feel like that’s more important, not having to look over my shoulder every two seconds, compared to the chances of a drone hitting me.'
Iran targeted neighbouring Gulf states in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks that killed more than 700 Iranians, including 168 at a girls’ school. Influencers responded by flooding feeds with scenes of luxury interrupted by war. British travel influencer Will Bailey witnessed missiles from a beach club where the DJ kept playing. Another visiting influencer posted from a yacht party. One British entrepreneur complained in a deleted video that the conflict grounded her flight, saying: 'It’s really annoying actually because we have got events, we’ve got meetings.'
'Influencers give the impression that they are more douchey in the way they portray life,' said Babayan. 'That does piss people off, and now they’re saying that [the chaos] is well deserved.' Dr Sreya Mitra, associate professor at American University of Sharjah, said Indian influencers in Dubai are counteracting hyperbole in Indian news channels by reinforcing normalcy. 'They’ll say, “Hey, it’s 2am and I’m here in the Ramadan market or downtown Dubai, and it’s safe.”'
The UAE reported three deaths and 68 injuries since the war started, far fewer than Lebanon and Israel. The UAE said it destroyed or intercepted most missiles and drones; the Fairmont hotel and airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi sustained damage.
