Egypt arrests entire newsroom of 'unlicensed' independent outlet

Egypt's interior ministry said Thursday it arrested six staff members of a fact-checking platform it accused of being "unlicensed" and linked to the banned Muslim Brotherhood group, as rights groups warned against an escalation of attacks on press freedom.

Authorities detained six journalists from Matsadaash starting on Monday, representing the entire team of the independent platform dedicated to fact-checking.

The platform said the journalists' whereabouts were unknown. No formal charges have been brought against them.

The ministry on Thursday said it had "detected an unlicensed online page titled Matsadaash, managed from abroad, that disseminates misinformation and distorts facts", adding that "six members" of the platform have been arrested.

It further accused the page of being linked to "the media committees of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood", without providing supporting evidence.

Matsadaash denied any ties to a political party or group, pointing to publications in which it debunked misinformation spread by pro-Muslim Brotherhood actors.

"Since its establishment, Matsadaash has remained committed to a professional approach based on fact-checking and correcting misleading news and statements, regardless of their source," it added in a statement.

Lobna Darwish, the head of advocacy at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, described the current environment in Egypt as "unsafe" for journalists, accusing the authorities of an "escalation in attacks on journalistic work" in Egypt.

"Within 24 hours, six Egyptian journalists were arrested. It is unprecedented for the entire editorial team of a news platform to be arrested," Darwish told AFP.

Mahmoud Kamel, a board member in the Press Syndicate, said the incident occurred within a "general environment that stifles freedoms".

"The only crime committed by those detained is doing their job as journalists, researching, analysing and verifying, which is the fundamental role of the press," Kamel told AFP.

According to the EIPR, the total number of journalists detained in Egypt in connection with their work has reached 26.

A large number of the journalists held in Egypt go on to face charges of "spreading false news".

The platform has specialised in news verification and fact-checking since 2018, often debunking statements made by the authorities and government agencies.

Recent publications include a fact-check of Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty's statements on the number of refugees in Egypt, as well as a report highlighting cronyism in public prosecution appointments.

"Journalism has become an extremely dangerous profession," Darwish said.

"Egyptian journalism has been destroyed, despite its great legacy, and the effects of this will last for decades."