When small, scattered protests calling for the resignation of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi erupted in several Egyptian towns and villages on Sept. 20 and continued for several days, Egypt's largely pro-government media downplayed the unrest, painting it as a Muslim Brotherhood conspiracy to stir chaos and sow division in the country.

TV talk show host Amr Adib lambasted the Qatari-based Al Jazeera news network and other pro-Muslim Brotherhood channels broadcasting from Turkey and Qatar in an episode of his current affairs show "Al Hekaya" ("The Story") broadcast on the Saudi-owned MBC Masr Channel, for allegedly circulating a “fabricated" video of an anti-government protest in Giza's impoverished district of Nazlet Al Siman. The video in question was allegedly produced by the local United Production Company in its Cairo studios and uploaded to YouTube to demonstrate that those channels air videos without verifying their authenticity, Adib said. He called on Al Jazeera to apologize for the error it had made. 

Amnesty International, meanwhile, reported that security forces had used "unlawful force" to break up the anti-government demonstrations, the majority of which were staged in low income communities to express economic grievances and protest the government's policy of demolishing unregistered buildings.

Quoting a coalition of Egyptian lawyers, the human rights watchdog said riot police had "used tear gas, batons, birdshot and on at least one occasion, live ammunition" to disperse the protests, which broke out on the anniversary of last year's protests against government corruption. Amnesty International also said, "Security forces killed two men while hundreds of protestors and bystanders were arrested on flawed terrorism and protest-related charges."