WATCH: Dubai TV releases fake news

Ever since the illegal siege of Qatar began on June 5, there has been a lot of false news and propaganda items appearing in media outlets belonging to the siege nations, namely Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

But things reached a new low yesterday when Dubai TV aired a completely false report claiming anti-government demonstrations took place in Doha and alleged that troops — including soldiers from Turkey — sprayed tear gas at protesters, reported Al Jazeera.

Qatar's government Press Office dismissed the report as ‘fake news,’ a day after the broadcast which has now been circulated online.

“This is just the latest example of fake news created by the blockading countries,” said Saif Al Thani, director of Qatar's Government Press Office, according to Gulf Times.

“The blockading countries are becoming increasingly desperate in their efforts to isolate Qatar because the international community hasn’t been fooled by the smear campaign. They’re now continuing their focus on public opinion; they’re spending millions on creating fake news,” he added.

Doha-based Twitter user @JnAlMarri had first tweeted about the false report, including the following clip with the news broadcast. 

He had asked ‘What does media in Qatar have to say about this? For God's sake, who is willing to believe this?’ 

أين القنوات العالمية المتواجدة في #قطر من هذا الأمر الجلل.!؟
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بربكم من يرضى بهذا الاستخفاف بالعقول!؟
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ماذا تبقى لإعلام السيسي وبشار الأسد؟ pic.twitter.com/YeCBs1foe3

— جابر بن ناصر المري (@JnAlMarri) August 21, 2017

In the broadcast, reporter Maryam Al Awadhi says: “Turkish troops have been deployed on key street intersections of Doha, Qatar, in response to demonstrations by Qatari citizens.”

The Dubai TV presenter claimed to base her reporting on ‘sources within the Qatari opposition.’

A ‘curfew’ was imposed on several parts of Doha after Qatari and Turkish troops fired tear gas at protesters, the report incorrectly claimed.

The latest incident comes only a few days after Dubai-based Saudi-owned channel Al Arabiya TV aired a video animation showing a Qatar Airways passenger jet being shot down. Qatar had raised a strong objection against it with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) saying it was terrorising passengers.