CAIRO — Is it clever, acid-tongued satire or blatant fake news and propaganda? "Waraa el-Setara” ("Behind the Curtain"), the Egyptian version of the British satirical puppet show “Spitting Images” and the French “Les Guignol,” is being hotly discussed on Egyptian social media.
Ever since its launch on YouTube on July 1, “Waraa el-Setara” has been poking fun at regional leaders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Other global leaders such as US President Donald Trump, former Libyan President Moammar Gadhafi, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Than also get their share, though so far Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi has not appeared.
The program says on its website that it is “totally biased toward enlightenment in the face of darkness” and “supports reason rather than stupidity.” Its six episodes have already mocked Iran's late Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini's belligerent speeches by showing him as a drum player beating war tunes on a night club stage. It portrays former Qatari Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim as a poker player whose cards all feature the face of Tamim, the emir. Erdogan is shown being tried and convicted of “the murder of secularism, the rape of journalism and bigamy — for marrying both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State.”
The show has attracted thousands of subscribers on YouTube, but the satire has drawn a mixed reaction. Facebook user Ahmed Halima wrote July 30, “The lies, deceptive ideas and misleading information are massive. Does saying the 'Waraa el-Setara' is not neutral in its description make lies acceptable?”
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