Source: The Tahrir Institute
Author(s): Mai El-Sadany
Original Link: https://timep.org/commentary/in-the-era-of-fake-news-egypt-monitors-and-silences/
Summary:
Mai El-Sadany explores the Egyptian state’s crackdown on alternative voices. She reviews regulations and legislations enacted to combat the spread of “fake news”. She also discusses the public prosecution’s and the government’s roles in enforcing legislation and regulation targeting those deemed as “dissidents”. She concludes by stating that the measures enacted are contrary to both Egyptian and International law.
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In an era in which the term “fake news” has been popularized by U.S. President Donald Trump, Egypt seems to be taking cue and intensifying its own crackdown via measures, regulations, and legislation that focus on tightening the state’s control over narratives as well as marginalizing and ultimately eliminating alternative voices. Although Egyptian law has long criminalized “spreading false news,” new steps taken by authorities in recent weeks ahead of the presidential election period indicate that the state is embarking on a path that entails heightened monitoring and surveillance over the population and the criminalization of independent thought on social media and communications platforms….
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