Some Egyptian news stories are being posted on Facebook to circumvent the web censorship of the Egyptian government, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“This act of censorship on a scale without precedent in Egypt is depriving the public of news and information that is independent and free of government control,” according to Alexandra El Khazen, who heads up RSF’s Middle East desk.
Reporters Without Borders says 118 sites are now blocked, more than any since the 2011 uprising. But that isn't stopping some outlets from getting the stories onto the web.
RSF says that some outlets, including online newspaper Mada Masr, post them on Facebook, which it says is "very popular" in Egypt.
“Since the blocking, we have seen a big increase in the number of our Facebook followers,” said Lina Attalah, founder of Mada Masr, which was among the first news sites blocked. “But we have no illusions. We know that we are not disseminating as much content as before.”
Egypt is arguing that the blocking authorizations it has issued are related to combating terrorism, but some sites are fighting back in court.
Egypt is near the bottom of the RSF press freedom list, ranking 161 out of 180 countries.
