Houthi Media: - A Study in Ideological Warfare

In an interview in 2013, Yahya al-Houthi – one of the brothers of the movement’s founder, Hussein al-Houthi – gave a glimpse of the group’s self-image as an oppressed minority: “They [the Saleh regime] exploited the slogan of our brothers, which speaks out against the Americans so that the West would not condemn the targeting of a single religious community, a persecuted minority. [...] The takeover of Amran and the relegation of the Hashid thus marked the beginning of a massive shift in Yemen’s networks of power.[34] Adding to public discontent, in 2014, the new Yemeni government – under pressure from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank – decided to lift subsidies on oil derivatives, sending prices soaring and prompting heavy backlash. [...] The Houthis seized the Yemeni capital of Sana’a on September 21, 2014,[42] a date very close to the anniversary of the 1962 revolution, which ousted the Imamate and established a republican state in the north.[43] In the years since the 2014 takeover, a calibrated media campaign has emerged, in which the Houthis seek to use “Popular Revolution Day” on September 21 to eclipse the celebrations and c. [...] The Houthis have consistently positioned Saudi Arabia as the main party in the conflict, as seen in their prolific use of the term “Saudi aggression” and the focus on coalition airstrikes and deteriorating living conditions due to the “Saudi blockade.”[96] Now, negotiations over Riyadh’s exit from the war have produced another adaptation in Houthi propaganda. [...] This paper is part of a series of publications produced by the Sana’a Center and funded by the government of the Kingdom of The Netherlands.