PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Walt Disney announced its first theme park in the Middle East, located in Abu Dhabi. This will be Disney’s latest park since the company opened its Shanghai Disney Resort in 2016.
👥 Who’s Involved: Walt Disney Company and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Miral.
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📍 Where & When: Yas Island, Abu Dhabi; with the announcement made on May 7, 2025.
💬 Key Quote: Disney CEO Robert Iger called the project a “thrilling” moment, emphasizing it would be “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati.”
⚠️ Impact: The park may boost tourism and economic growth in Abu Dhabi.
IN FULL:
Walt Disney Company has unveiled plans to establish its first theme park in the Middle East, marking a significant expansion in the region. The new resort will be situated on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), in collaboration with local leisure and entertainment company Miral. This development will be Disney‘s seventh theme park, adding to its existing locations across North America, Europe, and Asia, with the last park having opened in Shanghai in 2016.
“This is a thrilling moment for our company as we announce plans to build an exciting Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi, whose culture is rich with an appreciation of the arts and creativity,” Disney’s CEO Robert Iger said in a statement announcing the new park and partnership with Miral. He added: “Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati—an oasis of extraordinary Disney entertainment at this crossroads of the world that will bring to life our timeless characters and stories in many new ways and will become a source of joy and inspiration for the people of this vast region to enjoy for generations to come.”
Miral, known for its role in developing Yas Island into a major tourist destination, already manages attractions such as SeaWorld and Warner Bros World. The company is also working on a Harry Potter-themed park. Disney’s statement highlighted the strategic location of the UAE, within a four-hour flight of one-third of the global population, positioning the new park as a “significant gateway for tourism.” Additionally, the Emirates is recognized as one of the largest global airline hubs, with 120 million passengers passing through Abu Dhabi and Dubai annually.
Yas Island, encompassing 25 square kilometers, is conveniently located 20 minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and 50 minutes from Dubai. Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, Miral’s CEO, hailed the introduction of a Disney theme park as a “milestone” in their mission to elevate the island’s status as a premier global destination for entertainment and leisure. He emphasized that the project would contribute to sustained economic growth in the region.
In March, the UAE agreed to a $1.4 trillion investment framework with the United States after top leaders from the Gulf state met with President Donald J. Trump. According to the White House, the agreement will significantly increase existing UAE investments in the American economy—with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and energy technologies.
PULSE POINTS:
❓ What Happened: The Atlantic quietly edited a hit piece smearing Joe Kent, Trump’s nominee for Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, after falsely suggesting his ‘panzer’ (‘tank’ in German) tattoo was a Nazi dogwhistle. The National Pulse produced evidence that he served in an anti-tank unit and has a matching ‘jäger’ (‘hunter’) tattoo.
👥 Who’s Involved: Joe Kent, The Atlantic writer Ali Breland, The National Pulse Editor-in-Chief Raheem Kassam, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
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📍 Where & When: Online, with edits made to The Atlantic’s article in May 2025.
💬 Key Quote: “After this story was published, The National Pulse… released a photo featuring a man with a jäger tattoo on his right arm whom Kassam identifies as Kent,” The Atlantic’s edited article states.
⚠️ Impact: The controversy exposes media bias and sloppy reporting, undermining The Atlantic’s credibility and partisan efforts to discredit President Trump’s nominees.
IN FULL:
The Atlantic has edited its Who Gets Panzer Tattooed on Their Arm? hit piece on Joe Kent, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, which smears the war veteran for having a tattoo reading ‘panzer’—German for ‘tank’—on one of his arms.
Writer Ali Breland suggested the tattoo may be a Nazi dogwhistle, dismissing social media users who cautioned that U.S. servicemen in anti-tank roles often have the words ‘panzer’ and ‘jäger’ tattooed on each arm, for ‘tank hunter.’ This was popularized in the U.S. Army after the Second World War, as Americans were posted to West Germany—a NATO ally—to face off against Soviet forces.
Breland’s article originally stated he “couldn’t find any evidence that Kent was part of an anti-tank unit… or that he even has a jäger tattoo on his other arm.” However, Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, soon produced photographic evidence that Kent does have a matching ‘jäger’ tattoo, and did serve in an anti-tank section of the 2nd Ranger Battalion from 1998 to 2001—forcing The Atlantic to edit Breland’s hit piece.
“After this story was published, The National Pulse, a right-wing website founded and operated by the Steven Bannon ally Raheem J. Kassam, released a photo featuring a man with a jäger tattoo on his right arm whom Kassam identifies as Kent,” the article now reads, as if the image published by The National Pulse—in which Kent’s face is clearly visible—is somehow open to question. “I reached out to both Kent and ODNI to inquire about the photo’s authenticity, but did not immediately hear back,” the edit adds, further trying to muddy the waters.
The image, as seen below, is clearly Kent:
Even more disingenuously, the section of the article in which Breland notes he “couldn’t find any evidence that Kent was part of an anti-tank unit” has been altered—with no editor’s note to inform readers of the alteration—to state that “Kent was part of a battalion that, in part, did anti-tank work.”
As of the time of publication, the only editor’s note attached to the doctored article simply states, “This article previously misstated the name of Alexa Henning, a deputy chief of staff at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. It has been updated to include additional context about Joseph Kent’s military service.”
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