Footage of supporters of US President Donald Trump sparked the storming of the Capitol building in Washington and the chaos that spread over a wide wave of sarcasm and ridicule on social media sites in both Iraq and Lebanon, in which activists compared what happened to previous events in the two countries.
In Iraq, some internet users compared the Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who fought the Americans after their invasion of Iraq, to Trump in terms of their ability to incite the masses.
Others questioned why Washington supported the anti-government demonstrations in Iraq without doing so on its soil.
Some commentators sarcastically redirected Washington’s previous advice to Baghdad, such as “The US National Guard must respect human rights,” or “Arab countries call on the parties in Washington to respect freedom of opinion.”
Others dropped the anti-authority slogans of the "October Revolution" that began in 2019 on the Capitol scene. With a sarcastic analogy, many slogans circulated the slogan "America rises up," "the conspiracy of the Mexican embassy agents behind all this", and "the attackers coordinated with the Argentine ambassador to cause chaos."
In a simulation of an American sitting on the chair of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, users re-published a picture dating back to 2016 that shows an Iraqi man named Abu Samra sitting on the chair of the Speaker of Parliament after he was stormed at the time, accompanied by the comment "Abu Samra, Texas."
A satirical English-language website released a headline stating, "Iraq invades America to bring democracy to it," in retrospect of the "mission" set by former US President George W. Bush in 2003 to confront Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
Pelosi should have consulted the Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on how to protect the Congress headquarters (Reuters)
Berry consulting
In Lebanon, a wave of trolls invaded websites, and some considered that Pelosi should have "consulted" the Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on how to protect the Congress headquarters.
During the unprecedented popular demonstrations that Lebanon has witnessed against the political class since October 17, 2019, several clashes occurred between the demonstrators and the security forces in charge of guarding the parliament headquarters, and demonstrators were repeatedly prevented from entering the street leading to Parliament, at a time when demonstrators who were injured during the rallies accused Parliament Police of launching Live bullets at them.
Activists shared a picture of the House of Representatives police chief talking on the phone with his US counterpart to give him "instructions and advice to confront the demonstrators," and another for Berri while sitting in Pelosi's chair.
Activist George Azzi wrote on Facebook, "The Shabiha of Donald Berry are storming Capitol Hill," chanting "Shiites, Shiites, Shiites," a slogan that Hezbollah supporters repeat when they go out in demonstrations or during clashes with anti-government demonstrators.
As for former MP Henry Helou, he tweeted, "They are stealing from us the culture of obstruction, obstruction of entitlements, and paralysis of constitutional institutions."
Others criticized this wave of tender, among them the academic and political activist Antoine Haddad, who said, "Democracy underwent a harsh test but did not take place, rather it renewed its youth! Contrary to what many of us believe, it is certain that democracy and the rotation of power are the great wealth, and the most reliable weapon that America possesses and makes its superiority. ".