A social media influencer based in Dubai has had her conviction upheld in the Dubai Court of Appeals for allegedly offending a private hospital on her Instagram account. The woman, who is of Gulf nationality, was originally fined AED5,000 by the Criminal Court of First Instance and ordered to remove a video containing offensive language directed at the hospital.
According to the hospital’s management, the influencer posted a video on her Instagram account in which she called the hospital the worst and used hurtful language to criticize its license. The hospital also claimed that the influencer posted a poll on her Instagram account asking her followers to vote on whether they thought it was the worst hospital. Furthermore, the hospital accused the influencer of inciting her followers to abuse the facility, as the incident apparently arose after her mother was admitted to the hospital and experienced changes in her skin after a blood sample was taken.
The influencer, however, denied the charges and claimed that she had simply posted about an incident involving her mother, which the hospital took as an insult. She also stated that she had filed a complaint with the hospital management regarding the situation with her mother. However, when she followed up on the matter two weeks later, the hospital allegedly told her that they were not at fault and that it was normal for skin color to change after a needle is inserted. The influencer then removed the videos she had posted online.
A report by the Department of Cyber Crime and Electronic Evidence at the General Department of Criminal Evidence in Dubai Police supported the influencer’s claim that she had indeed posted about the incident involving her mother and had received Direct Messages from followers agreeing that it was the worst hospital. However, the report also supported the influencer’s assertion that she does not typically post negative content on social media.
Despite the conviction, the influencer has stated that she will not remain silent about the incident.
