Investigative journalists from Egyptian fact-checking platform Matsada2sh ‘forcibly disappeared’

Independent Egyptian fact-checking platform Matsada2sh announced on Tuesday that its entire editorial team have been forcibly disappeared by security forces, with no reasons given.

The platform, which is titled after the Arabic word for ‘don’t believe it’ said the raid and detention took place on 28 September, identifying two of the journalists who were forcibly disappeared as Mohammed Ashraf and Abdullah Qadri.

The platform said in a statement that they were detained after a raid on their homes, with their phones and laptops being confiscated, as well as damage to some of their possessions.

It later said a further four journalists had been arrested.

They added that there has been no clear reason issued as to why they were detained or why they could be under investigation.

“While we affirm our full responsibility for the content published by Matsada2sh, we also affirm that the platform is a well-known journalistic entity that has been openly practicing its work for years, and has gained significant credibility,” the statement reads.

“Mohammed Ashraf and Abdullah Qadri are well-known journalists who practice their journalistic work openly…we hold the relevant authorities fully responsible for the safety and fate of our two colleagues, and we demand the immediate disclosure of the reasons behind their arrest and details on the entity holding them,” it continued.

"In a further escalation of security measures targeting journalists at Matsadaash, journalists Mohamed Mahmoud and Omar Hilal have been arrested, bringing the total number of Matsadaash journalists detained in recent hours to six," the platform said later on its Facebook page.

The Matsa2dash platform said it demands the journalists be granted their full legal rights and be allowed to communicate with their lawyers and families.

Abdalla Nasef, political analyst and host of Tahrir Podcast, told The New Arab that the move signals an even tighter iron fist policy by Egyptian authorities where not just journalism is targeted, but fact-checking platforms too.

"More revealing is that it wasn’t a journalist or two but the entire newsroom. “Matsad2sh” (the name of the platform: “Don’t Believe”) doesn’t publish op-eds; they fact-check government officials’ statements and even other journalists—regardless of political affiliation—while occasionally investigating and exposing corruption," he said. 

"Overall, the message now is that if you aren’t controlled by the state, whether directly or indirectly, you will be went after," Nasef explained.

According to Nasef, those disappeared will likely appear before state security in the coming days and later potentially be released.

Sara Qudah, Middle East and North Africa Regional Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, told The New Arab that action must be taken to find the whereabouts of the journalists and secure their release.

"CPJ is appalled by the arrests of Egyptian journalists Mohamed Ashraf Abu Emeira, Abdallah Qadry, Islam Barakat, Omar Helal, Mohamed Mahmoud, and Mohamed Adel, effectively detaining Matsadaash investigative media platform's entire newsroom," she said.

"Egyptian authorities must disclose their whereabouts, ensure their safety and legal rights, and release them immediately. The arrests mark an alarming escalation in Egypt’s crackdown on independent journalism," she added.

Hossam Bahgat, the director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), is providing legal representation to the journalists on the Matsa2dash team.

A follow-up report from EIPR on Wednesday said that six members of the team had been detained, with the other journalists, including Omar Helal, Mohammed Mahmoud, Mohammed Adel and Islam Barakat, being arrested on Tuesday.

The organisation called on Attorney General Mohammed Shawky to open an urgent investigation to determine the whereabouts and condition of the six journalists, as well as the circumstances surrounding their arrest by plain-clothed officers.

The group noted that this is not the first time members of Matsa2dash have been targeted with arrests, adding that in August 2023, one of the platform’s editors was detained for 48 hours by a security agency before they were released.

The Matsa2dash platform is well known around the region for its debunking of fake news from Egypt and other countries in the Middle East. It started working in 2018 and has a team of independent researchers and reporters.

International rights groups have criticised Egypt for its crackdown on press freedoms and silencing of any form of dissent.

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said authorities had “systematically dismantled basic freedoms and suffocated civic space”.

Amr Magdi, senior Middle East and Africa researcher at HRW said: The authorities are crushing peaceful dissent with impunity and at the same time failing in their basic duty to manage the economy in a way that fulfils people’s rights.”