Egypt forms battle plan against fake news
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has warned against the dangers that rumors pose to the country and has announced government plans to combat the spread of false news.
CAIRO — President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi used a July 22 speech at a joint graduation ceremony for several military institutions to announce that thousands of false rumors have spread in Egypt over the past three months aimed at spreading chaos, instability and frustration among the Egyptian people.
“The real danger is blowing up countries from within," he said. "Rumors, acts of terrorism, loss of hope and feelings of frustration, all these work in a grand network aimed at one objective — only one objective — and that is to move people to destroy their country.”
A government source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Medbouli has instructed all ministries and other official bodies to monitor rumors circulated daily via traditional and social media, to respond quickly and clarify them to the public as part of the government’s fight against misinformation.
The source noted that Medbouli had met with ministry spokespeople July 16 to emphasize that immediately addressing rumors was the best way to eliminate them. He called on them to put more effort into publicizing each ministry’s activities and new projects and explain how they are providing services to citizens.
