Love Islander Arabella Chi is all smiles in an Instagram post of a glamorous dinner date with Dubai’s glittering skyline behind.<\/strong><\/p>\n In the days that followed, the British influencer’s feed was filled with more carefully curated posts of matcha lattes, pool-side workouts, and bikini snaps on the beach.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tsign up for Sun<\/span> Newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n What was not shown was that actual devastation was occurring after Iran bombed the emirate in response to the US and Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n In an exclusive expose, The Sun on Sunday examines the timelines of the accounts of some of Dubai’s biggest influencers and today we reveal just how far they are distorting reality.<\/p>\n London-educated content creator Michelle Armstrong, who boasts about her $2.1 million home there, also mocked those fleeing the city and sneered in relation to the bombings: “I can’t really hear anything over the sound of success.”<\/p>\n After the conflict began on 28 February, thousands of Britons fled as missile debris caught fire at the entrance to the five-star Fairmont The Palm hotel, with four people reported injured.<\/p>\n sad ending<\/p>\n 25-year-old influencer found dead in flat, sparking concern among fans<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n off guard<\/p>\n New CCTV video shows Epstein guard walking just feet away from pedo’s cell<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The explosions also damaged the airport and caused a fire in the Jebel Ali port.<\/p>\n The same day, Arabella, 35, told followers she was “staying at home” because it was “scary.”<\/p>\n Others, including Petra Ecclestone and Rio Ferdinand’s wife Kate, also shared video posts admitting the scare – but many of those clips have been removed.<\/p>\n The UAE has some of the strictest social media laws in the world, and after the conflict began, authorities warned against “publishing or spreading rumors and information online from unknown sources.”<\/p>\n A British tourist was among 21 people arrested after allegedly filming Iranian missile damage.<\/p>\n Dubai influencers must hold a government-issued license to post paid content, linking their income directly to compliance with regulations.<\/p>\n Anything that could spread panic or damage the reputation of the country could lead to heavy fines, prison sentences, or deportation.<\/p>\n Over the past few days, influencers \u2013 who can earn up to \u00a325,000 per sponsored post \u2013 have shared almost identical videos praising Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and telling followers they feel safe because “we know who protects us”.<\/p>\n And Arabella, who charges \u00a39,600 per post, is thought to have continued to deliver glowing reports about the country.<\/p>\n By March 3, three days after flames were seen on the exterior of the famous hotel Burj Al Arab, she was at the Asia Asia restaurant in Dubai Marina, a 15-minute drive away, sharing a romantic date night titled: “A kind of love forever.”<\/p>\n Two days later, a “morning ritual” post showed her working out before heading for a green drink at Reina Kitchen + Bakery, a 20-minute drive from the Burj Al Arab.<\/p>\n Then came the money-making beach shots for her 1.2 million followers. <\/p>\n By March 8, Arabella, who moved to Dubai in August with boyfriend Billy Hennessy and their now ten-month-old daughter Gigi, was posting photos of herself in a white bikini.<\/p>\n The snaps with Gigi were captioned “Sandy Toes” \u2013 a sun-drenched moment that was juxtaposed with what was unfolding elsewhere.<\/p>\n The followers immediately picked up on the fact that the beach was deserted. <\/p>\n One wrote: “Stay safe, that beach looks so cool”, while another asked: “Has everyone left Dubai?”<\/p>\n Drones fell near the airport the next day, while debris hit an onshore tower, causing a fire and forcing people to evacuate. <\/p>\n But within hours, Arabella posted dazzling images from a luxury jewelery collaboration. <\/p>\n On March 13, debris fell on a building in the Dubai International Financial Center, sending smoke into the center of the city.<\/p>\n Still, nothing changed in his feed. <\/p>\n She was strolling on the sands of Jumeirah Beach \u2013 a strip of beach lined with luxury hotels 15 minutes away \u2013 again posing in a bikini with her daughter.<\/p>\n By March 16, a drone strike caused massive fires and closed the airport, grounding flights and throwing fresh chaos into the city.<\/p>\n But British influential Saudi Al Nadak was painting a very different picture.<\/p>\n The Saudi, who met her millionaire husband in Dubai in 2016, has built her following by flaunting an ultra-luxury lifestyle, from diamond jewelery and designer purchases to a \u00a337million private island bought by her husband. <\/p>\n The 28-year-old, who lives in Sussex and has 1.3 million TikTok followers, told fans that Dubai was “calm and peaceful” even as the explosions occurred and thousands of people fled.<\/p>\n On 4 March Saudi told her followers that she felt safe because “we know who protects us”.<\/p>\n One replied: “How much are you paid to post government propaganda?”<\/p>\n The morning after the strike at the financial centre, she filmed in the Elements Terrace lounge at Atlantis The Royal \u2013 a 23-minute drive away \u2013 and insisted: “There’s no place else I’d rather be.” <\/p>\n Just hours after the early-morning drone strike at the airport on March 16, she shared candid details of her “spoiled girl’s” Mother’s Day.<\/p>\n It started with breakfast by the pool at Atlantis The Royal, not far from the massacre, before heading to a spa at Palazzo Versace three miles away. <\/p>\n Again, there was no sign of the chaos that surrounded him.<\/p>\n Another influencer, Stockport-born mother-of-two Maram Zbeida Maalouf, who has more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram, continued to post lucrative brand deals and family content.<\/p>\n On March 11, one of the days when the airport was attacked, she appeared in a BMW advertisement, telling followers: “Luxury isn’t just about arriving… it’s about how the journey feels.”<\/p>\n Two days later, as the financial center building was attacked, she shared a post of her children getting ready for a day trip.<\/p>\n In his humorous post on February 28, a shirtless Michelle said on video: \u201cWhat does everyone mean there are bombs and explosions in Dubai?<\/p>\n “As long as I still have my sauna and I still have my G-Wagon and I still live in my $2.1 million mansion on the Palm, I don’t really care… I can’t really hear anything about the sound of success.”<\/p>\n By March 3 he filmed himself shirtless in a luxury pool, mocking the so-called “warzone”.<\/p>\n One viewer replied: “How much do they pay for these types of videos?”<\/p>\n Mark Owen Jones, associate professor of media analytics at Northwestern University in Qatar, said: “At the moment, I don’t know for sure whether they are paid or not, but my expert opinion is that this started as a paid trend.”<\/p>\n On March 11, Michelle again went shirtless, telling her followers: “I’m upset. Imagine you wake up in your $2.1 million apartment, you go down to your Lamborghini and it won’t start, so you have to drive your Bentley. It’s really, really upset me.” What they didn’t tell them was that people were fleeing the airport 8.5 miles away.<\/p>\n Dubai welcomed nearly 20 million overnight visitors last year, generating an estimated \u00a355 billion in income, with tourism accounting for about 13 percent of the UAE’s GDP.<\/p>\n But the Middle East is now said to be losing at least \u00a3450 million a day in tourist spending, with estimates that the prolonged conflict could cost the region as much as \u00a342 billion, with centers like Dubai hit hardest.<\/p>\n One source said: “Is it any surprise that those in power in Dubai will do everything they can to push a glossy image. It’s no coincidence.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Love Islander Arabella Chi is all smiles in an Instagram post of a glamorous dinner date with Dubai’s glittering skyline behind. In the days that followed, the British influencer’s feed was filled with more carefully curated posts of matcha lattes, pool-side workouts, and bikini snaps on the beach. sign up for Sun Newsletter Thank you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1722,3340,6885,6883,3703,6884,6882,624,1212,5440,2419],"class_list":{"0":"post-14105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bible-news","8":"tag-biggest","9":"tag-bombs","10":"tag-content","11":"tag-distorting","12":"tag-dubais","13":"tag-glossy","14":"tag-influencers","15":"tag-iranian","16":"tag-posting","17":"tag-rain","18":"tag-reality"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14107,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14105\/revisions\/14107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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