Qatari Fake News Rings Spread Misleading Footage Peddling Houthi Propaganda

Qatari propagandists put old video footage back in circulation to mislead viewers into believing Houthi militia false claims of advancing into Saudi Arabia’s southwestern city of Al Khubah, which is nestled in Jazan region near the border with Yemen.

Fake news vigilantes and well-informed sources, however, confirmed that the footage dates back to 2014, and that it featured Saudi riot control taskforces in action, not Houthi gunmen entering the city.

The Yemeni army rejected Houthi claims of logging sweeping advances towards the border with Saudi Arabia.

“Information dealt by militia media outlets are baseless,” Brigadier General Abdo Abdullah Majali told Asharq Al-Awsat, explaining that Houthis are claiming fake victories to mask setbacks that their ranks incurred recently on several battlefronts.

Houthis have been losing ground near Saada governorate.

“Air strikes carried out by the Yemeni armed forces in Saada confused Houthis,” Majali said.

Confounded by successive defeats, Houthi coup leaders sought to boost combatant morale by spreading rumors about the Iran-backed militia staging military offensives near the border with Saudi Arabia.

Speaking on the many blows suffered by Houthis, Majali said: “The militias are desperate to cover up their multiple failures in direct confrontations with army forces in many locations, most notably in Saada, where the national army now controls more than 60 percent of provincial terrain.

“The army has cordoned off Saada, and has access to its mainland,” Majali asserted.

“Air strikes and army advances threw Houthis off balance and triggered widespread militant leadership withdrawal, but scaled up their propaganda operations.”