Pluralism is almost non-existent in Egypt. Al-Akhbar, Al-Ahram and Al-Gomhuriya are the three most popular state-owned national newspapers. Independent media outlets are censored and targeted by prosecutors. As for television and radio, their popularity has confined them to the role of relaying political propaganda. 

Virtually all media are directly controlled by the state, the intelligence agencies or a handful of wealthy, influential businessmen who are under the government’s thumb. What’s more, media outlets that refuse to submit to censorship are blocked, as is the case with Mada Masr, an independent news site that has been inaccessible in Egypt since 2017.

Against the backdrop of the government’s counter-terrorism efforts, journalists are often charged with “belonging to a terrorist organisation” and “disseminating false information”. A 2018 law explicitly authorises surveillance of social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers. Even laws that have nothing to do with the press contain provisions that are used to criminalise journalism.

Egyptian media are in crisis partly because of the country’s economic situation. After the 2013 coup, the government tried to nationalise the entire press sector by creating new media financed and controlled by the government. The move seriously destabilised the industry. Journalists’ low salaries make reporters susceptible to corruption.

Egypt is a conservative country, run both by the military and the religious establishment. Issues involving the rights of atheists or homosexuals are especially sensitive, and the media that address them may be accused of publishing material “in violation of the country’s moral code”.

Despite some landmark releases —  notably those of journalist Alaa Abdel Fattah and blogger Mohammed Ibrahim Radwan (Mohammed Oxygen) — which were largely due to pressure by activists, unions and the international community, raids, newsroom closures, arrests, sham trials, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions remain a daily reality for reporters in Egypt. It is not uncommon to witness smear campaigns against them, and surveillance is ubiquitous. Even after their release, journalists are often forbidden from resuming their work, travelling and communicating with the press.