Egypt’s censors shift into high gear over coronavirus coverage
Press censorship in Egypt has most recently hit The Guardian and The New York Times following what it claims are "false rumors" of the coronavirus crisis in the country.
Egypt revoked the press credentials of a reporter for The Guardian and delivered thinly veiled threats of similar action against The New York Times over coverage of the coronavirus, part of an ongoing pattern of censorship of the press.
Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) demanded an apology from The Guardian over what it called “a false report” citing a Canadian medical doctor who said the number of people infected with the disease in Egypt had reached over 19,000. The story carried by the respected British daily was written by Cairo-based freelancer Ruth Michaelson, who writes regularly for The Guardian.
The body that issues accreditation for foreign journalists said in a statement that it had “through its role in following up what is published about Egypt in the foreign media” monitored The Guardian piece that “includes incorrect numbers and estimates regarding the numbers of new cases of the coronavirus that is newly emerging in Egypt.”
The UN’s World Health Organization announced today that Egypt has 196 confirmed cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, out of 3,015 “suspected cases tested.”
