Egypt fact-checking platform says authorities arrest entire editorial team

Egyptian authorities have arrested the entire editorial team of a fact-checking platform, the Matsadaash platform and a major rights group said on Wednesday.

“In a further escalation of security measures targeting journalists at Matsadaash, journalists Mohamed Mahmoud and Omar Hilal have been arrested, bringing the total number of Matsadaash journalists detained in recent hours to six,” the platform said on its Facebook page.

“The entire editorial team in the Matsadaash newsroom is now in detention,” it added, following the arrest since Monday of the four other members of the team.

“No official information has yet been provided regarding their places of detention or the legal proceedings being taken against them,” the platform said.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights confirmed the arrests, condemning “the security crackdown on the news platform”.

According to EIPR, four of the journalists were arrested at their homes in the governorates of Cairo, Gharbia and Port Said, while two others were detained “on a Cairo street”.

In its statement, Matsadaash described the arrests as “an unprecedented development for the platform that raises serious questions about the measures being taken against an entire newsroom and its journalists”.

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.

Egypt has long faced domestic and international criticism regarding human rights violations and restrictions on freedom of expression.

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

Recently, a sweeping crackdown also resulted in the imprisonment of Discord users, online content creators, comedians and other commentators.

Rights organisations accuse Egyptian authorities of detaining large numbers of dissidents and prisoners of conscience, a claim the authorities deny, asserting instead that these individuals are being held on criminal charges.