Did Variety report that Ian Miles Cheong was killed by an Iranian missile in Dubai? No, that's not true: Only one story on the Variety website mentions Cheong, and it was published five months before the Iranian strikes on the city in the United Arab Emirates. Cheong also posted a video of himself walking around the Dubai Mall on March 3, 2026, a couple of days following the attack.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on March 2, 2026. It read:
🚨 BREAKING Ian Miles Cheong has been killed by an Iranian missile in Dubai
(Source: @Variety)
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @PresidentToguro on X.)
Conflict in the Middle East
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on Feb. 28, 2026, which killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike on his compound in Tehran. Iran has responded with drone and missile strikes against the U.S. and allied targets across the Middle East, including in Dubai.
Variety
A Google search (archived here) shows Variety never reported that Cheong was killed by an Iranian missile in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Also, the lone story (archived here) published by Variety appeared on its website on Oct. 2, 2025, about five months before the post on X claimed he had died.
Ian Miles Cheong
Ian Miles Cheong is a Malaysian-born social media personality and blogger known for his commentary on American politics, culture, and international affairs -- while based in Malaysia. He has more than a million followers on X.
A day after his purported demise, Cheong posted a video (archived here) to his X account on Mar. 3, 2026, showing him out and about. It read:
Things are alive and well in Dubai. This is the Dubai Mall and everyone is out shopping like any other day. The idea that everyone is hiding under a basement or something is the most unbelievable nonsense.
In the video, Cheong misspoke, saying it was "February 2nd or 3rd or whatever the date is." Later in the day, he posted a second video (archived here). Cheong corrected himself, saying, "March 3rd. Not Feb."
