Middle East and Africa | Apps and the oppressed

Clubhouse gives Arabs a space to speak freely

The region’s autocrats are taking notice

Assume someone is watching
|DUBAI

THE CONVERSATIONS can feel almost rebellious. Drift through the rooms and you hear heated talk of politics, business and religion. There is a frisson of flirtation too, with discussions about sex veiled in thin metaphors. And every so often someone stops to wonder when the police will crash through the door.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Boarding up the clubhouse”

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From the March 31st 2021 edition

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