RIYADH: Saudi Twitterati stood up to a campaign that was launched by extremists who wanted to distort the reputation of police, after one of them broadcast a video showing a policeman arresting a girl in a public place. In the video, the police officer was accused of abusing her.

Those who started the hashtag later admitted that the video was concocted and that they were only trying to gauge people's response.

After the hashtag reached global trending, it came into conflict with its original plan, especially after it was revealed that the girl who appeared in the clip was a runaway African maid, who was accused of stealing. Twitterati started to defend the policeman while others published tweets against the originator of the hashtag, describing that the trial of the terrorists is a black mark and prayed for the souls of those who died from Al-Qaeda attacks, calling them martyrs.

The originator of the hashtag admitted the fabricated video, saying he found it on Twitter and WhatsApp and only re-tweeted it to discover people’s responses about the Haia and other official bodies. This justification was met with more ironic comments and acute criticism.

Saudi journalist, Mohammad Al-Omar, said Twitterati were more aware than others because they trust the police. This hashtag revealed a movement of a special kind by Twitter users and is represented in pursuing owners of extremist accounts that oppose the state. Pursuing them led to the closure of extremist accounts and legal action against them.

Social media is very important to Saudis and numbers point to increased response to them in addition to increased usage of the Internet during the past years because they offer open space to discuss political and social issues.

Abduaziz Al-Qahtani said what they do on Twitter is provide information and reveal suspicious directions, but they don’t know about security procedures. “We aim to educate users and encourage them to stand up to deviant thought. Our activities in pursuing extremists depend on basic specifications, which are summed up in tracking those who oppose the nation.”

Al-Qahtani pointed out that he has been doing this task since he entered the realm of Twitter four years ago. He said pursuing extremists should focus on those who publish extremist thought and those who wish to rally people against the country.