Drop Site News reported on October 23, 2026, that leaked records from Geneva-based Alp Services describe a project called Arnica 2, which compiled more than 11,300 spreadsheet entries for Facebook users living in the United Arab Emirates. The reported lists focused on users who liked selected news and political pages considered hostile to the UAE.
What the lists reportedly contained
The spreadsheets included names, places of residence, employment and other personal details, according to Drop Site News. The reported figure counts spreadsheet entries.
The project’s reported selection signal was a person’s likes on particular Facebook pages. Pages named in the investigation included UAE71, Arabi21, Al Araby, Rassd, UAE Studies, Emirati Affairs and Al Dabboor. Drop Site News also described a July 2017 Alp report that labeled about 1,000 people alleged Muslim Brotherhood supporters; the report did not substantiate affiliation beyond likes on related pages.
How the reported project was organized
An Alp Services working document dated August 28, 2017, listed ten Facebook pages for investigation, Drop Site News reported. Three days later, Alp employee Lionel Badal sent seven search links to Bucharest-based subcontractor Total Trust Investigations and requested names and profile details in Excel format.
In October 2017, Alp’s Emirati contact Matar Humaid al-Neyadi reportedly requested and received a proposal budgeted at €55,000 to analyze ten pages and their audiences. Alp billed that amount to Abu Dhabi-based ARIAF Studies and Research LLC in December, according to Drop Site News. The outlet reported that Alp delivered the data on a USB drive in January 2018.
What the reporting says about use
Drop Site News said its reporting did not establish whether the lists reached Emirati State Security, were used operationally or contributed to prosecutions. Its account describes targeted lists built around selected Facebook pages, not Facebook’s entire user database.
