[michaelt]

> The Dubai government denies this strike happened

In the UAE it's illegal to talk about the strikes, or post videos of them online. $55,000+ fine and 2+ years in prison. Over 100 people have already been arrested.

When the two different governments said contradictory things, in other situations a journalist would arrange for a local correspondent to head over to the Oracle building and see if it's visibly damaged, maybe get some photos.

[shykes]

It's interesting, because I initially thought these restrictions in UAE were strictly because of operational security. That is why Israel and Ukraine, for example, also forbid posting images of missile impacts: it provides valuable targeting information to the enemy. In Israel the legal framework is military censorship; in Ukraine it's martial law. Enforcement against individuals is strong in Ukraine, and more selective in Israel - presumably because Ukraine has a bigger internal infiltration problem, or perhaps because Israelis are more disciplined or have more effective social pressure?

In any case, in turns out I was mistaken: apparently in UAE the wave of arrests are not framed as operational security, but a wider ban on information that could "spread misinformation", "cause panic", "affect national security", or "damage reputation". So it's a wider legal framework with more complicated implications - less of a no-brainer than I initially thought!

[jacquesm]

UAE has always been one of the more repressive government on the planet.