Controversial Moroccan Dating Program Sparks Outrage and Investigation

An uproar has erupted in Morocco after a dating program on YouTube: Blind date with clothes. In the program, participants choose a potential partner based on their clothing style. According to many Moroccans, the content goes against Moroccan norms and values ​​and the Ministry of Justice has even launched an investigation.

The uproar arose after the first episode of the program came online. In the 40-minute video, a 20-year-old Moroccan-Dutch woman asks young men questions while she can only see their pants and shoes. Many viewers are attracted to women’s short skirt.

When there are two candidates left, the participant lets his dog choose the winner. Many internet users find this rude and disrespectful. In addition, according to Islam, the dog is in many cases unclean.

Watch the program here:

The Moroccan public has called on the security services to act immediately. According to them, the video does not comply with the appropriate standards of appropriateness. In less than four days the video was viewed 1.8 million times. Many viewers respond that dating programs are produced and broadcast in Western countries.

The program is based on the American show Blind dating. The YouTube channel has only been around since January of this year. In February, the channel already had 60,000 followers after airing a similar program called Fast data. There was also a debate about this, but the response to the latest video was even more.

The police investigation must reveal whether crimes were committed when the online program was created. According to various Moroccan media, the police are closely monitoring the distribution of the video. It can still be seen on YouTube, but the call to take it offline is getting louder in Morocco.

At the same time, the outrage was also criticized, for example from the Moroccan Outlaw Instagram account. He advocates the decriminalization of sex outside of marriage. The administrators of that page regularly receive death threats that they believe are not being addressed. “ISIS members are threatening us in public videos on YouTube and Facebook because of this blog. But the security service is investigating the YouTube girl’s video,” is their response to the investigation and case

The woman in the program that is heavily criticized is aimed at an influencer with half a million followers on TikTok. She has now posted a response video in which she expresses remorse and gives an explanation. “I grew up in the Netherlands and I also use social media in the Netherlands. I was not aware that this could be offensive in Morocco. I do not want to encourage anyone to look like this, but I grew up in a society where this was. She also says that she gave her dog a place in the video because she sees him as her daughter.