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Egyptian authorities ban social media satire pages

Egyptian satirists and the public figures they mock play a cat-and-mouse game on the internet.

mubarak-satirical-page.jpg
A screenshot from earlier this summer shows a clone of the Mubarak satire page that was shut down "after it reached more than 590,000 followers." The clone page was later shuttered as well. — Screenshot made by Sayed Elhadidi

After the Egyptian officials clamped down on satirical programs in Egypt, notably "Al-Bernameg," which had been hosted by media presenter Bassem Youssef, Egyptian satirists have resorted to social media as a supposedly safe haven where they can pursue their favorite hobby — taunting heads of state, especially President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

The Egyptian satirists’ idea was to create pages on various social media platforms that carry the name of the political character whom they make fun of. Therefore, they created pages that held the names of Sisi and former President Hosni Mubarak, in addition to the latter’s wife, Suzanne Mubarak, and his son, Gamal.

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