Egypt: Government Challenging New Media

For NPR, Deborah Amos describes the challenges facing new media users in Egypt. She notes that Egypt has 15 million internet users, with those more politically active facing increasing pressure from the government. Bloggers and other media activists have used the internet to publish the names of police officers who abuse citizens, and have utilized Facebook to organize a protest in response to the beating death of Khalid Said. “They see the future as bleak…They see corruption…The only tool in their hands is their fingertips. And the keyboard.” The Egyptian government’s response has been to jail outspoken internet users. “Once they figured out they were a challenge, they threw them in jail,” says Marc Lynch, director of the Middle East Institute at George Washington University. Wael Abbas, one of the “first generation”of Egyptian bloggers, expressed concern over the role the U.S. has played in supporting the Egyptian government: “Mubarak is a friend, and he’s allowing McDonald’s and Hardee’s and Pizza Hut. To hell with the Egyptian people. If they want democracy, we don’t care.”