Arms Dealers Operate on Social Media X

Arms dealers in Houthi-controlled Yemen are openly utilizing Elon Musk's social media platform, X, to sell weapons, including Kalashnikovs and grenade launchers. Many of these dealers boast verified accounts, suggesting complicity with the Iranian-backed Houthis, a group labeled as terrorists by the United States. Experts, including former British Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown, assert that the operations of these dealers cannot be independent of Houthi approval, given their presence in Houthi territories. The advertisements, primarily in Arabic, target Yemeni customers in a country with a high prevalence of firearms. Despite the platform's policies against such activities, these transactions continue unimpeded, raising concerns about X's compliance with US sanctions and its potential role in facilitating global terrorism. Both The Times and the BBC have reached out to X for comments but have yet to receive a response.