Dubai's influencer class has been forced to reconcile its usual portrayal of gilded luxury with the reality of Iranian missile strikes, as footage of parties and explosions compete for attention on social media. Saturday night's attacks, which Iran said were retaliation for US-Israeli actions that killed more than 700 Iranians, including 168 people at a girls' school, caught many residents off guard.
Mike Babayan, a 23-year-old Los Angeles-born day trader who moved to Dubai in 2020, was in a hookah lounge when he heard the first explosion. Emergency alerts urged residents to take shelter, but he said most people simply resumed their evening. He later relocated from his home in the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, to a residence farther from the city centre, where explosions could be heard every 20 to 30 minutes.
Babayan, who documents his life to nearly 150,000 TikTok followers, has since turned to fact-checking and commentary. He warned followers that an AI-generated video of the Burj Khalifa burning was fake, while maintaining that Dubai remained safer than cities such as New York, London or Los Angeles. 'Where else could I walk around at night wearing my $60,000 watch undisturbed?' he asked.
Other influencers reacted similarly. British travel influencer Will Bailey, who has about 500,000 followers, filmed missiles falling from a beach club as the DJ continued playing; his videos showed smoke rising from the nearby Fairmont The Palm hotel. Another visiting influencer posted from a yacht party. One British entrepreneur complained in a since-deleted video that the conflict had grounded her flight, forcing her to cancel events and meetings.
Dr Sreya Mitra, an associate professor of mass communication at the American University of Sharjah, said Indian influencers in Dubai were countering what some call a 'credibility crisis' in Indian television news. They reinforce a narrative of normality, she said, posting clips of busy Ramadan markets and safe streets to reassure families back home. The UAE has reported three deaths and 68 injuries since the conflict began, and said it intercepted most of the missiles and drones directed at it, though the Fairmont hotel and airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi sustained damage.
