Houthi-linked arms dealers sell weapons of war on X and WhatsApp: Tech Transparency Project
TTP is a Washington DC-based research initiative of Campaign for Accountability that seeks to hold large technology companies accountable.
TTP's report builds on the findings of an August 2024 report from The Times in the UK, which found similar arms trading activity on X and WhatsApp. In a separate report in May 2025, TTP identified a number of Houthi officials with blue checkmark accounts on X, indicating they paid the platform for premium service, the TTP website said.
According to the report, TTP identified 130 Yemen-based X accounts that offered high-powered rifles, grenade launchers, and other weapons. More than half of the accounts were located in Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, and many expressed allegiance to the Houthis or displayed the Houthi emblem in their posts.
In some cases, the weapons offered for sale were clearly marked as 'Property of US Govt.' The accounts did not explain how they acquired these US-branded weapons, but militants around the world have tapped into a thriving black market for weapons left behind by US forces in Afghanistan.
Both X and WhatsApp have policies barring weapons sales but evidently were not enforcing them in these cases. In addition to hosting the arms dealers, X ran ads beneath some of weapons posts, indicating the company generated revenue off them.
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