Key points from this report:

• Arms dealers linked to Houthi militants in Yemen are using X and WhatsApp Business accounts as an online storefront for their weapons trade.
• The dealers offer high-powered rifles, grenade launchers, and other weapons on X and point to WhatsApp to connect with sellers.
• Some of the weapons are stamped “Property of U.S. Govt,” suggesting they are of American origin and were once used by the U.S. military.
• X, owned by Elon Musk, and WhatsApp, a unit of Meta, have policies against this kind of activity but have taken no apparent action to stop it.
• The Iran-backed Houthis are a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization subject to multiple U.S. sanctions.

Elon Musk’s X and Meta-owned WhatsApp are hosting a thriving arms trade tied to Houthi militants in Yemen, a Tech Transparency Project (TTP) investigation has found, revealing how the tech platforms are undermining U.S. national security interests.

TTP identified 130 Yemen-based X accounts that offered high-powered rifles, grenade launchers, and other weapons. More than half of the accounts were located in Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, and many expressed allegiance to the Houthis or displayed the Houthi emblem in their posts.

In some cases, the weapons offered for sale were clearly marked as “Property of U.S. Govt.” The accounts did not explain how they acquired these U.S.-branded weapons, but militants around the world have tapped into a thriving black market for weapons left behind by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The Houthi-linked X accounts pointed to messaging apps WhatsApp or Telegram to connect with sellers. Many of the WhatsApp accounts showed they were business accounts that are specially designed to help businesses engage with customers. In some cases, they displayed a product catalog of guns for sale.

The findings raise questions about the role of X and WhatsApp in the activities of the Houthis, who have been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. and are subject to multiple U.S. sanctions. The Iran-backed militant group, which controls northern Yemen, has condemned the recent U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites and recently resumed attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Both X and WhatsApp have policies barring weapons sales but evidently were not enforcing them in these cases. In addition to hosting the arms dealers, X ran ads beneath some of weapons posts, indicating the company generated revenue off them.

X did not respond to a request for comment, and Meta declined to comment.

TTP’s report builds on the findings of an August 2024 report from The Times in the UK, which found similar arms trading activity on X and WhatsApp. In a separate report in May 2025, TTP identified a number of Houthi officials with blue checkmark accounts on X, indicating they paid the platform for premium service.

TTP identified 130 Yemen-based X accounts that offered weapons for sale. A total of 109 accounts gave their location as Yemen in their account profile. An additional 21 accounts showed they were located in Yemen via references in their posts, location tags in images, or country codes in the WhatsApp numbers they gave to contact them.

More than half of these accounts (72) gave their location as Sanaa, the capital of Yemen which has been under Houthi control for more than a decade. Many of these accounts showed allegiance to the Houthi movement, also known as Ansarallah, and some offered weapons in boxes emblazoned with the Houthi emblem.

Of the 130 Yemen-based accounts, 61% (79) were created after Musk took ownership of X (then Twitter) in October 2022, and 59% (77) have engaged in arms trading on the platform in the last six months, TTP’s analysis showed.

One X account identified by TTP, with the handle @yeusaf_mm, stated in Arabic it is “for buying and selling weapons” and gave its location as Sanaa. The account, with more than 2,700 followers, had a profile image of a rifle logo and a banner image of various rifles and guns. The account posted frequently about weapons for sale, including two AK-47-style rifles with 30-round magazines (described as the “pride of the Yemeni military industry”) and a Polish AK-47.

The account regularly re-shared pro-Houthi posts, including a video of a Houthi march from the Houthi-owned TV channel Al-Masirah, a video from Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer showing Houthi attacks on ships, and an image honoring the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli missile strike. (Hezbollah, like the Houthi movement, is one of Iran’s proxy militias in the Middle East.)

Another account with the handle @mslslnsln1, stated in Arabic that it is “for sale and purchase of all types of weapons and military equipment” and gave its location as a market in Sanaa. Like the above example, the account had a profile image of a rifle logo, and its banner image was a photo of rifles hanging on racks on a wall. The account, which had more than 5,100 followers, posted multiple photos of weapons for sale, including a Soviet rocket-propelled grenade launcher (RPG-2) and a collection of Turkish-made M4 carbine clones.

The account appeared to affiliate with the Houthi rebels, re-sharing a post from the Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer that promotes the group’s military capabilities and offering rifles on a box with the Houthi emblem visible.

TTP identified nine other Yemen-based X accounts that offered rifles in boxes with the distinctive Houthi emblem, which states, “God is great, Death to America, death to Israel, damnation to the Jews, victory to Islam.” One such post offered AK-47s for 5,600 Saudi riyals (about $1,500 USD). Another post offered a what is described as a Yemen-manufactured AK-47 that is “identical to the Russian model in all specifications, and we guarantee it’s better than the Russian.”

One of the Yemen-based arms trader accounts, @TayfAbn50085, had a banner image of Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the military, political, and spiritual leader of the Houthis.

About a quarter (35) of the Yemen-based X accounts identified by TTP offered what appeared to be U.S. or Western military weapons. The weapons were all stamped “PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVT” or “NATO.”

The most frequently offered U.S. government-branded weapon was the M4 carbine, a rifle used by the U.S. Army. For example, the abovementioned account @mslslnsln1 offered a set of four M4 carbines, all of them with 40mm M203 grenade launchers attached. Zooming in on the rifles reveals they were stamped with “PROPERTY OF U.S. GOVT” and a Colt's Manufacturing logo. The post directs users to WhatsApp to inquire about a purchase.

Likewise, the account @ywsfkldmsr79574 posted about a Colt M4 carbine for sale with accessories including a ballistic helmet and night-vision goggles plus grenades. When users inquired about the price in comments, the account indicated it was available for $10,000.

The origins of these U.S.-branded rifles are not clear, but M4s were among the American-made weapons left behind in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan—weapons that fell into the hands of the Taliban and have fueled an international black market for militant groups.

TTP also identified several M6 rifles, higher-end versions of the M4 made by LWRC International, an American firearms manufacturer that supplies arms to the U.S. military.

For example, an X account with the handle @mdljbr201 offered an “American M6” for $8,000, describing it as a “weapon that needs no description.” The rifle is stamped with “LWRC International” and “5.56mm NATO,” indicating that the weapon can fire the same ammunition used in the U.S. military’s M4s and by other NATO member countries.

In addition to U.S.-branded weapons, the Yemen-based arms traders offered a variety of weapons described as Russian. These included rocket-propelled grenade launchers (RPGs), a shoulder-fired weapon used against tanks and other armored vehicles, and AK-47s, a type of assault rifle originally produced by the Soviet Union.

The arms trader with the handle @bdllhyy52468696 posted a photo of Soviet RPG-7, calling it a Russian model, and gave his contact number for inquiries. When interested users asked about a price in the comments, the trader replied that it was available for 7,000 Saudi riyals (about $1,800).

Another account, @aljwkr_alsn, posted an offer of a Russian AK-47 with “zero mileage,” indicating it had not been used before.

TTP could not verify the origins of these weapons, but the Houthis appear to have access to Russian-made weapons. The U.S. Treasury Department earlier this year sanctioned a network of Houthi operatives accused of procuring weapons from Russia.

These posts appear to violate multiple X policies. The platform explicitly prohibits weapons sales, stating, “You may not attempt to purchase, smuggle, sell, or facilitate the selling or trafficking of weapons.” It also bars promotion of terrorist organizations as well as “individuals who affiliate with and promote their illicit activities.” But these accounts are conducting their business in the open with no apparent enforcement action from X.

One Yemen-based X account offered more than just weapons. The account, @Abdulhameed0536, posted images of a Starlink satellite internet terminal for sale in July 2024. Starlink, which is part of Musk’s company SpaceX, prohibits the unauthorized resale of its devices, though a black market for the devices has reportedly popped up all over the world.  

TTP found that many of these Yemen-based arms trader accounts have made use of special features available to X users.

More than 50 of the accounts had a “professional category” listed in their X profiles, in an apparent effort to give them an air of legitimacy. These included “Gun Store,” “Commercial & Industrial,” and “Shopping & Retail.”

According to X, users must convert their account into a “professional account” to list a professional category like this. Professional accounts “allow businesses, brands, creators, and publishers to have a unique and clearly defined presence on the platform and the ability to grow and strengthen their presence on X,” the company says. They get access to special features including an analytics dashboard.

Two of the accounts featured a tips button, allowing users to solicit contributions from users.

In addition, several of the accounts posted extended videos, a sign that they subscribe to premium service on X. The ability to post videos longer than the standard 140 seconds is a perk that is only available to users who pay for X Premium.

One such video shows an individual unwrapping and demonstrating the features of an “American M249 SAW,” a light machine gun that’s used by the U.S. military.

TTP also found instances of X running ads in the reply sections of posts that offered weapons for sale, indicating that X may be profiting off this content.

For example, X served an ad from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in the replies to a post offering a Russian-made AK-47 for sale.

X also served an ad promoting an op-ed about Trump’s domestic policy bill under a post about a rifle for sale for 10,500 Saudi riyals (roughly $2,800). And X served an ad for a company selling Tesla accessories under a post offering an “All American” Glock 17 handgun. (Musk is CEO of Tesla.)

X says it does not place ads on content that violates its rules, stating that “our policies and controls are designed to avoid placement immediately above or below content that we determine may be unsafe or unsuitable.” But TTP found no evidence that X had taken enforcement action against these policy-violating posts.

These Yemen-based arms trader accounts have operated openly for months and in some cases years on X. A few have even engaged directly with Musk on the platform, TTP found.

When Musk posted a slow-motion video of himself firing a Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle in September 2023, one of the arms traders, @yaser84779686 replied to Musk with an image of a Barrett rifle from his inventory. Another account, @MustfeAlDhabia1, replied to Musk with an image of two AR-15s and a light machine gun. One of the weapons was visibly stamped with Knight’s Armament, the name of the U.S. firearms company and defense contractor.

More than half (69) of the Yemen-based X accounts identified by TTP directed potential buyers to business accounts on Meta’s WhatsApp messaging platform. Meta promotes these accounts as a way for businesses to “engage audiences, accelerate sales and drive better customer support outcomes.”

WhatsApp Business is free to download, though Meta charges fees for certain marketing messages delivered through the app. Meta also charges users of WhatsApp's "business platform" based on their interactions with customers. TTP could not determine if Meta charged such fees to the WhatsApp accounts identified in this report.

One of the arms trader X accounts, @AlqhylyM, listed a WhatsApp number in its bio section and its profile image. The number linked to a WhatsApp business account that called itself a store "for all types of weapons and accessories” and featured a weapons catalog. It showed the trader’s location in Sanaa.

Another Sanaa-based X handle, @AbdelSalamQat, listed a WhatsApp number that linked to an account showing Houthi leader Mahdi al-Mashat firing a high-powered rifle. The WhatsApp account featured a catalog of guns available for purchase and indicated that it became a business account in April 2024. It also linked to a Facebook page that sold weapons.

The arms trader X handle @tsm_fry listed a WhatsApp number for a business account that offered “Weapons and Military Supplies” and gave a location in Sanaa.  

These WhatsApp business accounts often made little secret of their activity. More than two dozen (28) of them clearly stated in their profiles that they were dedicated to buying and selling weapons.

TTP found that roughly a quarter (17) of the WhatsApp arms trader accounts displayed their wares in catalogs. This feature, available exclusively to business account users, allows visitors to view and purchase available merchandise without leaving the messaging platform.

One X account with the handle @Vulcan77140 linked to two WhatsApp business profiles, one of them featuring a catalog with weapons. The catalog listed four high-powered SVD sniper rifles with scopes, with text in Arabic saying “the heavy caliber has arrived.”

Another X account, @_almntaser, linked to a WhatsApp business account that featured dozens of guns in its catalog. One of the guns, a Glock, was wrapped with a custom skin depicting an American colonial soldier and the words “Preserve, Protect, Defend.” The skin also included images of the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and the U.S. Capitol building.

The X handle @AlTalhi2tradin linked to a WhatsApp business account with a catalog of rifles and handguns. The WhatsApp account, created in June 2024, had profile and cover photos showing racks of weapons that matched the arms dealer’s X account.

These accounts appear to violate WhatsApp’s business services policy, which prohibits “buying, selling, promoting, or otherwise facilitating the exchange of” firearms. The accounts also appear to violate parent company Meta’s commerce policy, which bars “the buying, selling, or trading of weapons, ammunition and explosives.”

Meta says it cannot read or monitor WhatsApp messages, which are end-to-end encrypted, but the company does say it reviews WhatsApp business account profiles. It also states that it reviews every image before it can be added to a WhatsApp catalog. It is not clear why Meta’s automated and human systems missed the weapons-related profiles and catalog items described above, but the findings raise questions about Meta’s enforcement of its firearms policies.

Some of the catalogs examined by TTP offered U.S.-branded weapons, stamped “Made in U.S.A.” or “Property of U.S. Govt.” More than a dozen of the WhatsApp business accounts also linked to Instagram or Facebook accounts showing weapons, raising further questions about Meta’s enforcement against firearms sales.

X and WhatsApp are providing an essential platform to Houthi-linked arms dealers selling weapons of war. The companies have policies in place that prohibit that kind of illicit trade but are allowing it to take place in the open. This represents a threat to U.S. national security interests, given that the Houthis are a U.S.-designated terrorist group.