The Role of Independent Media in an Authoritarian Setting

Since the advent of the Arab Spring, mainstream media in Egypt and the Arab world has become an organ for state power to control public access to news, often spreading propaganda and misinformation but also functioning as a safety valve for public disgruntlement. Alternative media like Mada Masr and others have been at the forefront of challenging state propaganda and the increasing irrelevance of mainstream media as a trustworthy source of news. As a result, the state has cracked down on journalists through constant harassment and imprisonment of journalists to spread an atmosphere of fear around the work of a free press.

In this conversation with publisher of Mada Masr, Lina Atallah, and media expert and professor of Arabic Jacob Høigilt, we will learn more about the current conditions of the Egyptian press, the challenges that face journalists committed to the truth.