By Santiago Bracho
The 2026 Houthi Offensive in Yemen
On the 10th of September 2026, Houthi rebel forces seized the key port of Mokha in Yemen, enacting a de facto embargo of the Red Sea for Saudi vessels. The incident is part of a renewal of the war in Yemen, which started in 2014 when armed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces started intense combat. The war has become a devastating humanitarian crisis, with the UN estimating that by 2026, “10.8 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance”. Both major warring sides have been accused of war crimes, there has been acute food insecurity, and the death toll has exceeded 300,000 people.
While international media have reported on the conflict since its start, it’s a group of online influencers who emerged a few years ago that deserves attention.
Problematic coverage by influencers
Anti-Imperialist online political influencers based in Western countries have given overt support for Houthi rebels in online alternative media spaces. With their most recent victories, this deeply ideological and biased view of the Houthis is likely to be strengthened.
This support has also come at the expense of engagement with civic society within Yemen, creating a very limited portrayal of how the war affects different ethnic groups, women and human rights defenders.
Although the war in Yemen had been ongoing for more than a decade, this particular alternative media perspective towards the Houthis emerged from the 2024 Houthi attacks on Israel-bound vessels in the Red Sea, with a demand to end the Israeli bombardment of Gaza. This is when some of the most popular Leftist, anti-imperialist, online political influencers began praising Houthi rebels across social media.
Political influencers, their digital platforms and the Houthis
The most-viewed instance of this was in January 2024, when Hasan Piker, a Twitch streamer with millions of views, interviewed a Houthi rebel and directly compared him to fictional heroes fighting an imperial force. In September 2026, Piker called the Houthis “one of the few forces successfully resisting Trumpism”, as Trump and the USA are allied with Saudi Arabia, whom the Houthis are targeting.
Other examples include academic and activist Norman Finkelstein, a fierce critic of Israeli policy, who praised Houthi forces in 2024, and a video of his proclamation of support, released on the 12th of September 2026, has tallied over 700,000 views in less than a week. A few days later, the controversial American podcast Chapo Trap House, which has garnered up to 500,000 monthly listeners, described the Houthis as the official government of Yemen, despite the fact that only Iran has recognised it on the world stage.
These figures have a sizable online following, both through viewership and the creation of politically engaged communities. Their portrayal of Houthi forces both reflects and influences discourse about them in online political communities.
As Kate Nevens, Scottish Green MSP and Middle East activist, has claimed, “[The Houthis] actions against Israel are winning [them] platitudes among the left in the United States and Europe… It’s become almost the norm at the regular demos… in Glasgow and Edinburgh to hear someone talk about the Houthis as friends and allies in our fight against Western imperialism.”
Perception and propaganda
This perception of the Houthis is part of their propagandistic aims. As communications and Arabic literature academic Dr Mohammed Almahfali has stated: “At the international level… [the Houthis] tend to frame themselves as a movement resisting American imperialism. This framing can make their political and military project more appealing to certain audiences who are already critical of Western foreign policy, even when they may have little understanding of the movement’s broader ideological and political objectives within Yemen.”
Notably, the Houthis’ ideological foundations are marred by antisemitism. Their slogan and flag call for a “curse on the Jews!” Dr Almahfali and analyst James Root note Iran and other forces opposed to Israel “avoid language targeting Jewish people as a whole”, whilst the Houthis directly call for violence towards Jewish people. Additionally, the Houthis’ current advancement has displaced an estimated 46,000 people, further worsening the devastating humanitarian crisis Yemen faces.
Notably, these influencers claim to promote egalitarianism, social justice and self-determination of oppressed peoples. Yet it appears in Yemen, the Houthis’ opposition and obstructing American foreign policy, has superseded their alleged crimes.
Yemeni human rights defenders ignored
This is particularly regrettable, as these alternative online spaces, where politics and current events are discussed and dissected, are where Yemeni civil society, human rights defenders, and ethnic minorities should be platformed.
Kate Nevens states her personal NGO contacts in Yemen are “trapped in a quagmire of Houthi authoritarian control”. Nevens stresses that by supporting Houthi forces, because of their opposition to Israeli and US foreign policy, political influencers and activists are ignoring the lived experiences and struggles of Yemeni civil society, women’s rights and human rights activists within the country. Instead, these influencers adhere to a false binary, supporting one of the two warring sides in this conflict.
The need for inclusion, responsible and fair coverage
As Dr Sawsan Al-Refaei’s research report, ‘Generation of Fear, ’ highlights, there is “a profound and multidimensional toll on women leaders [in Yemen]. Many reported experiencing chronic physical ailments… largely attributed to prolonged stress and unsafe working conditions… Repeated exposure to violence, threats, and traumatic experiences, both direct and secondary, has resulted in hypervigilance, emotional numbness, and, in some cases, suicidal ideation.”
Dr Al-Refaei also criticises the fact that “the protection of women defenders is rarely integrated into programme design, while international and national organisations often fail to uphold duty of care obligations”.
Therefore, politically engaged social media influencers who claim to support national self-determination and social justice could use their platforms to raise awareness of these issues and mount greater support from international organisations towards civil society actors in Yemen. As Yemeni activists continue to fight for peace and justice in a war-torn country, politically conscious alternative media figures have a moral duty to amplify their voices, as opposed to taking sides in the brutal war enveloping the nation.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Media Diversity Institute. Any question or comment should be addressed to [email protected]
