Conservative influencers promote Qatar as a desert paradise — but are they lying?

One of the main reasons Americans flock to shows like “The Liz Wheeler Show” is because Wheeler is someone the average citizen can trust to tell the truth — and it’s something that she’s very proud of. Which is why when other members of the new media on the right appear to betray the trust of the American people, she feels the need to call it out.

“These people, who are ostensibly conservatives, began to post on X very long, flowery defenses of Qatar and the Qatari government that didn’t seem to be quite authentic. It didn’t seem to be quite organic,” Wheeler explains, pointing to Rob Smith as one of those influencers.

“My first trip to Qatar has been eye-opening. This is a very different Middle East than I experienced as a U.S. Army soldier deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Smith began in his post on X.

“I wasn’t aware of a great deal of things about Qatar, only misperceptions and half-truths I’d read about online. When the opportunity was presented to me, with full authority and autonomy to ask the tough questions of the officials I’d be meeting with (and I did), I decided to risk any potential criticism and to travel and experience it for myself,” he continued.

The post went on to praise the Qatari government further, finishing with a posed photo of Smith on a balcony.

“If your reaction after hearing that post or reading that post was anything like mine was, maybe you scratched your head after you read that, because it reads a little bit like a scam email,” Wheeler says.

“I mean, to be perfectly frank, my gut reaction when I read that was, ‘Shouldn’t you register as a foreign lobbyist after writing this post, Rob?’” she adds.

In another post from influencer Emily Wilson, she is posed in a photo on a very similar looking balcony, writing only, “So beautiful can’t wait to come back," followed by the flag of Qatar.

When Wilson’s post went viral, she responded, “I genuinely can’t believe how clueless some people are. Qatar hosts Formula 1 and people from all over the world fly in for it. Tourists, models, celebrities, fans. It is a massive international destination.”

“And honestly it was amazing to finally feel safe and not be surrounded by homeless crackheads and criminals for once. I could actually relax and enjoy myself. Maybe if you salty losers left your bedrooms and visited a place before obsessively talking about it, you wouldn’t sound so chronically online and jealous,” she added.

“Again it just doesn’t ring quite true. Why all of a sudden are these influencers coming to the defense of Qatar?” Wheeler asks, pointing out that Smith happens to be gay, which is considered a crime in Qatar.

“They write these glowing recommendations of Qatar and yet their own behavior is actually illegal in Qatar. If you look at Qatari law, it’s illegal to evangelize for any other religion besides Islam. You can be put in prison or worse from that. You are not allowed to preach publicly about Christianity or distribute any kind of religious materials,” Wheeler explains.

“You can’t even question the tenants, the teachings of the Islamic religion. That is a criminal offense in Qatar. ... Same-sex sexual relations in Qatar are illegal and punishable by imprisonment. If you engage in any kind of gay sex, then you are considered a criminal under the Islamic law in Qatar,” she continues.

“They have a two-tier justice system, a justice system that oppresses regular people and lets off the elites, holds them to an easier standard, which is pretty evident,” she says, adding, “That’s exactly what’s happening here to Rob Smith and to Emily Saves America.”

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