Mass media in Egypt
While state media is "almost always loyal to President al-Sisi," and most pro-Islamist media have been closed, or now broadcast from abroad,[1] journalists and human rights defenders are denied access to parts of the Sinai region and are obliged to report only the official version of terrorist attacks under the terrorism law that was adopted in August 2015.
[2] Following the 2011 revolution, acquisitions of media outlets and private newspapers by businessmen linked to the government started surfacing, initially with close ties to the newly in-power Muslim Brotherhood, businessmen then shifted in 2013 with the deposition of former President Mohamed Morsi to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's support and regime.
In addition to those acquisitions, the government tapped into the market with a major new TV network named "DMC" with a range of news, sports, and entertainment channels changing the landscape beyond the "official" outlets that lost their credibility,[4] DMC also imposed a de facto monopoly over filming where other privately owned TV channels are denied access.
In the Middle East, Africa, India, and even much of Eastern Europe and Russia, printing was a minor, specialized activity until at least the 18th century.
[10] Several journalists from private newspapers have been arrested and jailed for breaching laws that prohibit criticism of the President, state institutions and foreign leaders, or "putting out false news harming the reputation and interests of the country".
[12] However, unlike many of Egypt's regional counterparts, criticism of the government in general does take place,[8] after amendments to existing press laws in 2006 which however still criminalise libel.
Egypt was the first Arab nation to have its own satellite, Nilesat 101, which allows the Egyptian TV and film industry to supply much of the Arab-speaking world with shows from its Media Production City.
[9] However, in 2006 several journalists working for the Cairo branch of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera were detained for investigating subjects such as police brutality and "harming the country's reputation".
Radio has also historically been utilized as a political tool in Egypt beginning under the rule of President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Many Egyptians, both literate and illiterate, also enjoyed listening to radio, so this provided an alternative means to propagate his ideologies other than print media.
Nasser's political goals for Egypt were seen as strongly revolutionary and adopted positions such as anti-colonialist, anti-imperialist, and anti-Zionist.
(10) This resulted in the dismissal of General John Bagot Glubb, a veteran soldier and Arabist who had been in Jordan over 25 years, as a commander of Jordanian forces.
(10) At this time period Iraq had joined the Baghdad Pact, and Nasser saw this as Britain attempting to westernize the Arab world.
(10) Due to this the Voice of the Arabs broadcasts were calling on for a revolution by the Iraqi citizens against the royal family and Prime Minister Nuri al-Said.
(10) The Egyptian broadcasts were not the sole cause of this, but Ahmed Said did receive a letter with a piece of es-Said's finger inside that thanked him for the support.
(10) The government has actively encouraged internet usage, quadrupling over the last few years with around 17 million regular users in 2010, around 21 percent of the population.
[10] However, several people have been detained for insulting Islam, state institutions and President Hosni Mubarak during pro-democracy protests, as well as government officials in cases of abuse by the security services.
[10][12] On 10 April 2011, Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil was sentenced to three years in prison by a military court on charges of insulting the armed forces and publishing false information after he published an article on 28 March titled "The people and the army were never one hand" in which he detailed cases of abuse by the military and criticized the Supreme Council of Armed Forces for undermining the revolution.
[24] Following peace talks in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2010, Al Ahram was caught doctoring a photo that had originally depicted U.S. President Barack Obama walking on a red carpet ahead of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, and King Abdullah II of Jordan.
However, Osama Saraya, the editor-in-chief, defended the decision saying "The expressionist photo is ... a brief, live and true expression of the prominent stance of President Mubarak in the Palestinian issue, his unique role in leading it before Washington or any other.
"[25] Freedom of expression[26] and belief tend to be suppressed by the Egyptian media sector to favor pro-government ideology since the coup in 2013.
