Outlawed Muslim Brotherhood stirs public opinion by fake news

CAIRO - 21 September 2019: The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group has been bustling about the social media platforms since Friday in an attempt to stir chaos and violence among the public, said media reports.

Hundreds of fake social media accounts linked to the banned group posted fabricated videos and news, some of the footages dated back to 2013, in order to trick the public opinion into believing that masses took to the street and clashes took place with several casualties among protesters.

The fake accounts that operate from outside Egypt circulated fake news that some of the so-called protesters were killed while facing the security forces, those news were confirmed as fake few hours later.

The face accounts backed by the outlawed group alleged that a young man called "Ahmed Abu Leila" was killed in Alexandria while protesting, the fabricated news was exposed and the group's attempts to incite chaos on the Egyptian streets were foiled.

The security expert, Mohamed al Ghobashy, said that the banned group resorted to use social media platforms in order to negatively affect the public opinion and the trust between citizens and the state.

The banned group used photos and video footages dated back to 2011 and 2013 to fabricate a rumor of protests in Tahrir square, the accounts linked to the group used photos of small masses that were watching a football game on Friday to claim that they are staging a protest against the regime and the state, added al Ghobashy.

The security expert said that news reports asserted that no protests took place in any of the Egyptian governorates, as the fake accounts were exposed to public scrutiny later and heavy criticism from Egyptian citizens.

The member of parliament, Yehia al Kidwany, said that the banned group is familiar with deception tactics and inciting violence through fake news , adding that the outlawed group's attempts come amid several projects to boost the state's infrastructure and aid low-income citizens.

The MP said that the Egyptian people are aware of the cunning tactics of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in social media platforms.

The Islamic studies expert, Hisham al Najjar, said that the Muslim Brotherhood has a special wing that is responsible of fabricating news and distributing rumors, adding that the group is utilizing all the illegal means, social media platforms are on the top of them, to seize power.

Al Najjar said that the state and the Egyptian people became familiar and aware of such deceptive moves and not easily tricked by them.