The current influx of disinformation on Egypt has hit a record high. The stories are in abundance with conflicting, agitating spins emerging daily. Some display what appears to be valid photos or even footage, others are authenticated by numbers and statistics, and others are proliferated on social medial. Why is this inrush happening asks Azza Radwan Sedky?
President El Sisi recently said that the Egyptian government faced 21,000 harmful rumors in 3 months. He also explained that the real danger to Egypt comes from how rumours could encourage hatred of authorities and lead to terrorism, and he asked Egyptians to beware the large number of lies, rumours, fabrications, and slanders.
How does disinformation impact Egypt’s society? The stories emerging today are intent on propagating lies and swaying the public opinion by spreading disgruntlement, tarnishing characters, and discrediting authorities. It also advances certain agendas and mindsets and manipulates victims to think in a particular way and even to react in a certain way.
Disinformation manipulates views and leaves the vulnerable sceptic and uncertain wondering where the truth is. Furthermore, it intentionally fuels division and polarization, exploits negativity, and sparks controversy.
Social media has allowed online disinformation to flourish, and when innocent Egyptian souls rely on disinformation, the choices they make are faulty and not in their or others’ best interests. This is especially the case if they pass such disinformation along to others, only to allow it to spread even further. Unfortunately, we, Egyptians, innocently tend to do that. We enjoy the spotlight and, hence, are ready to spread what we come across as though we are in the know.
Just a mere handful of recent disinformation episodes on Egypt are exposed here. For the domestic consumption front, a story on the working hours of government employees was propagated confirming a three-day week; it was further enhanced with a story re school students who will attend only three days of schooling. Both stories were total fabrications.
Then there is the photo of an Egyptian, assumed to be in Ras El Hekma on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, seen standing next to the sign, “Welcome to the United Arab Emirates,” when, in reality, he had taken it on the border between Qatar and the Arab Emirates. The photo went viral and caused disturbances across social media followers.
When a story emerged saying that the price of natural gas for homes was being raised by between 40 to 100 piasters per cubic meter, the Ministry of Petroleum had to assert that there is no amendment in the prices of natural gas allocated for homes and commercial activities.
More dangerous are the episodes intent on distorting Egypt’s image globally. Two ship stories, back-to-back, came out simultaneously to tell the world that Egypt is assisting Israel in its genocidal efforts in Gaza; both stories were utterly false, the aim is clear: to tarnish Egypt’s image.
The first story is of the MV Kathrine, a Portuguese-registered ship that sails under the German flag, bound for Israel carrying explosives. The disinformation alleged that the ship docked in Alexandria to provide the ship with safe harbour, akin to complicity in the genocide, and that it offloaded its cargo to be sent to Israel amidst its onslaught on Gaza.
Indeed, the MV Kathrine was permitted to dock at Alexandria Port solely to unload a shipment for the Ministry of Defence and Military Production. The ministry added that once it unloaded its specific cargo for Egypt, it left and headed to the Haydarpaşa Port in Turkey.
The embellished story lacks fact checking. Why does a ship need to dock in Alexandria, offload its Israeli cargo, only to be sent to Israel by land or by sea when it can dock in Israel, a very short distance away?
The second ship story revolves around the Israeli warship that sailed through the Suez Canal and in the process ignited a wave of controversy on social media in Egypt. In response to the ongoing outcry, the Suez Canal Authority said in a statement on Saturday that Egypt is committed to the "Constantinople Convention" signed in 1888. This convention dictates that ships of any nation can pass freely during war and peace, considering the waterway a neutral zone. Article I of the Constantinople Convention reads, “The Suez Maritime Canal shall always be free and open, in time of war as in time of peace, to every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag.”
The bottom line is that Egypt is inundated with fabricated stories that enrage the public, and if these stories are listened to, they may cause downright mayhem. So how can we as social media followers overcome these hideous stories and have them not get out of hand? Here is a list of do’s and don’ts at the official and personal levels.
At the official level, providing accurate information and maintaining a transparent outlook is one way to counter disinformation. Keeping Egyptians abreast of happenings and providing them with up-to-date details and facts leaves no room for doubts and rumours. This while authorities must rebuttal such episodes swiftly and efficiently.
Also, we, as Egyptians, must realise that the onus is on us not to fulfill the expectations of disinformation providers. Fact checking is paramount, and in this day and age, when access to information is at the tip of one’s hands, it isn’t only a journalist's job, it is everyone’s job to fact check. If something sounds unbelievable or highly dubious, it very well might be, so checking to verify becomes mandatory.
We must always follow credible sites and scrutinize news sources. We must ask the pivotal rational questions. Is this incident possible to have occurred or is it too farfetched? Does it ring true? Is it biased or one-sided? Is it timely and accurate? Is it published by one source only and not confirmed by well-known publications? Are the photos clear or perhaps altered?
More importantly, we must share only when we are certain of the source and its credibility, and if we doubt the source, then we don’t share.
Disinformation poses a significant threat to society; we must be aware and avoid being sabbotaged.
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