Since 2005, the Pan Arabia Enquirer - as this satiric "news service" is called - have been taking the mickey out of everything from absurdly fantastic incredible Dubai building projects to leaders throughout the Middle East. They manage to find the real laughs and the right twists to current events, Arabic culture and notabilities in Middle Eastern political and cultural life.
The Enquirer is a much-loved site, especially by the Western expats and their articles are shared by many readers on various social media.
Who is behind it all remains unknown to the general public for obvious reasons, but there is a clear British fingerprint on the articles most of which are written in an almost Punch-like style. They never insult anybody directly (maybe with the exemption of the former Iranian President Ahmadinejad), but their activities are still kept slightly underground as censorship is otherwise tough in the Emirates, always balancing on the edge of the acceptable.
It is easy to believe what the paper says and even more so, if you are used to everything you read being presented as the truth. That's why it is extra amusing to see satire do its job in the UAE. The musings of this media have been taken for granted by (naive?) readers and it is the height of comedy to see people vividly debating the various rambling "news items" produced by the Enquirer on social media and even in real news media.
Stories that they have brought to "lol"-ing readers includes the famous claim that a special Gold Class lane is to be build on the highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and a story on the latest addition to the British royal family being christened by the name Qatar Airways following a sponsorship deal - just to mention a couple of the more recent ones.
They recently had their collection of merchandise T-shirts reprinted and they are up for sale. Some examples shown on this post.
If you are not familiar with this excitingly refreshing piss-taking online service, you should check it out here for a good laugh:
The Pan Arabia Enquirer
- or follow them Facebook: Pan Arabia Enquirer - Facebook
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