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Influencer arrested over TikTok video satirizing wealthy Emiratis in Dubai shows limits on freedoms
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FILE - A man visits a car showroom in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, June 2, 2016. A popular online influencer has been arrested in Dubai over a satirical TikTok video in which he portrays a brash Emirati on a spending spree inside a luxury car showroom. - photo by AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An online influencer has been arrested in Dubai over a satirical TikTok video in which he portrays a brash Emirati on a spending spree inside a luxury car showroom. The comedic sketch, in which he tosses stacks of bills at bewildered employees and offers to buy the most expensive car — a $600,000 Ferrari SF90 — poked fun at the lavish lifestyles on display in the city, known for its gleaming skyscrapers and over-the-top tourism attractions. Dubai is more socially lenient than much of the Middle East, with a relaxed dress code, bars and clubs serving alcohol — and even a local comedy scene.