TikTok creators put Dubai's cleanliness and safety to the test

Social media users have been finding creative ways to see whether Dubai really is the cleanest and safest city in the world

Content creators test popular claims about Dubai on TikTok. Photo: @comprand0m, @elonakarafin, @walidelmusrati / TikTok

Dubai is praised for several reasons — from its attractions and impressive architecture to its culture and vibrant food scene. But most recently, social media users have been lauding the city's cleanliness.

Last month, the Global Power City Index named Dubai the cleanest city in the world, and since then, TikTok users have been putting that to the test.

Content creator Walid Elmusrati was among the first to test the accolade, filming himself as he walked around Downtown Dubai wearing white socks.

“While walking in Dubai, you will be surprised with the cleanliness,” he said in the TikTok video, which has garnered 6.8 million views.

As well as showing the soles of his white socks, he also put on black gloves to wipe public surfaces to see if there was any dust. He also wiped benches, handles, rails and surfaces with wet wipes, showing there was no dust or dirt.

Elona Karafin, another content creator, was inspired by Elmusrati's video and did the “Dubai cleanliness test” herself. Wearing white socks, she walked around the Dubai Mall promenade, which she described as one of the busiest areas in the city.

She hailed how the city was “pretty much scrubbed clean on a daily basis”, before revealing the almost-spotless sole of her socks. The video has been viewed more than 700,000 times.

Safest city in the world

Aside from being spotless, Dubai has often been described as one of the safest in the world, something a content creator who goes by the user name Comp Random put to the test on TikTok.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 1.2 million times, he left a GoPro camera, an iPhone and his wallet on a bench at Kite Beach for more than an hour, saying he was “absolutely sure" they wouldn't be stolen.

He said he was inspired by a story he heard about a person who left a $60,000 handbag on a table to reserve it. “Where else can you do that?,” he quipped.

After an hour and a half, he walked back to where he left his belongings, and found the items untouched.

“Dubai is the best city in the world," he said. "I don't know other cities in the world you can do this in.”