Houthi-linked arms dealers are selling weapons on X and WhatsApp - report

Arms dealers affiliated with Houthi militants in Yemen are using the X and Meta platforms to traffic weapons - some US-made - in apparent violations of the social media giants' policies, a new report revealed today.

- William Christou

The Iran-backed Houthi rebel group, which has controlled swathes of Yemen since 2014, is designated as a terrorist organisation by the US, Canada and other countries.

The report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which focuses on accountability for big tech, found Houthi-affiliated arms dealers have been openly operating commercial weapon stores for months and in some cases, years, on both platforms.

Both Meta - WhatsApp's parent company - and X are scaling back their content moderation policies, precisely at the moment that experts say disinformation and illicit trafficking are on the rise.

The 130 Yemen-based X accounts and 67 WhatsApp business accounts identified by TTP offered high-powered rifles, grenade launchers and other military equipment for sale.

Many of the arms dealers sold what appeared to be US-produced weapons, some emblazoned with "Property of US Govt", as well as other western military weapons that were stamped with "Nato".

The report does not specify the arms dealers' customers, but given the high price of the weapons, with some rifles being sold for as much as $10,000 (about £7,500), it is likely buyers could be other militants.

Both X and Meta prohibit arms dealing on their platforms.

Many of the arms dealers were subscribers to X Premium, as well as users of WhatsApp business - services which are supposed to be moderated.

"X and WhatsApp both have policies against weapons sales but they are allowing arms traders linked to a US-designated terrorist group to traffic weapons on their platforms," said Katie Paul, the director of TTP. "In some cases, these companies may be profiting off violations of their own policies that create risks for US national security."

More than half of the X accounts listed their location as Sana'a, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, and many regularly shared pro-Houthi content.