A statement made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the monitoring of 21,000 rumors in three months alone has prompted the government to deal more effectively with what it considered a “war” facing the country.
In this regard, the cabinet announced on Wednesday the establishment of a media center tasked with “responding to rumors”.
As the government sets the stage for confronting rumors, experts and observers say these efforts would achieve their goals only if officials grant the public more access to information.
According to the decision of Prime Minister Dr. Mustafa Madbouli, the Media Center of the Council of Ministers aims to “achieve effective communication between the government agencies and the various media outlets, by clarifying the facts to the public opinion and refuting rumors about various issues and subjects within a framework of transparency and credibility.”
The center also has a role to “present the achievements and activities of the government in a simple and comprehensive way, while highlighting the government’s efforts to solve the problems of citizens,” according to the premier.
But Dr. Ayman Nada, professor of public opinion and media at Cairo University, described the official measures to confront rumors as “painkillers that do not cure the underlying disease.”
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new steps “will not eliminate rumors, which are mostly predictions of actions or decisions, the result of lack of clear information and agenda by the government.”
According to Dr. Nada, "recent studies say that the rate of confidence in the Egyptian media does not exceed 20 percent."
He called "for the adoption of a law that allows freedom and circulation of information, with increases media freedom, in addition to providing an integrated information infrastructure to restore confidence and stop rumors.
