Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Picture by Kremlin Pool/Zuma Press/PA Images. All rights reserved. The current Egyptian regime has mobilized all its media institutions to distort the image of its opponents and incite hatred against them. It does not distinguish between a revolutionary, someone who belonged to the previous regime, or someone from within the military establishment: if that person criticizes, disagrees, or competes with it, then it will be a target.
Not only has this regime imprisoned, dissapeared, imposed travel bans and asset freezes on its critics, but it has also launched unethical defamation campaigns against them. It has employed a unique phenomenon of "leaking" and broadcasting personal phone calls that are then picked up by its allies in the media to distort and incite hatred against those targeted.
Why is this regime resorting to such attacks against its opponents and what are its criteria in selecting its targets? There are different answers to this crucial question.
