The media environment in Egypt has been greatly affected by who is the president. Former president Mubarak shaped a media environment in Egypt that was not free by Freedom House (Pew Research Center). For the brief period of time that Morsi was in power, the media environment was considered partly free (Freedom House). However, since the regime of current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the media environment has reverted back and is now not free (Freedom House).
During the revolution of 2011, Mubarak was forced to resign while amidst violent demonstrations. These protests that occurred in Egypt’s capital had protestors from all different sectors of Egyptian society: more religious people, women, and secular Egyptians (Euro News). During the uprisings, the government tried to adopt post-censorship tactics, however it just brought more attention to the uprisings. The government shut down phone lines and the internet, they blocked SMS and social media. On the Day of Rage, the government blocked the entire internet across Egypt. However, some Egyptians got around this block by using forms of communication like Vambuser, or they used land lines to call friends to tweet and post for them (New York Times).
Sisi rose to the role of president of Egypt in 2014 with promises of eradicating the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt’s electoral commissions stated that Sisi won the presidential elections with 96.1% of the vote. Democracy International said in no way were the elections democratic (The Guardian). Sisi’s new regime turned into a witch-hunt for dissenters. Egypt jails so many journalists under “false news” charges, which are ambiguous to journalists and media outlets. There are so many cyber crime laws that all media outlets are fearful of repercussions. There was also a new measure implemented that considers Facebook pages or blog accounts with more than 5,000 likes or followers a media outlet, which then can be prosecuted for charges like false news (Poynter).
Journalists have a very tough time performing their jobs in Egypt because they could be charged for anything. Sisi’s regime has reverted back to what Egypt’s government was like before Morsi and the 2011 protests.
