A series of videos claiming to show protests in Egypt against President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is doing the rounds on social media, suggesting the country is on the verge of an uprising similar to Syria.
The video is shared on Facebook with a caption: “And they are all kicking off in Egypt now, too! For the first time in several years, large-scale anti-government protests have erupted in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. There are likely small, incidental protests in the poorer suburbs of Cairo. But nothing serious that would threaten Sisi’s regime. Most of the news of mass anti-government protests in Egypt are being spread by pro Iranian media outlets. The protesters shouted slogans against the current President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and chanted slogans: The people want the fall of the regime. Hardly earth shattering statements but what regime change do they want – A Muslim Brotherhood salafist sharia state to align with Syria and Turkey? Jordan next”
Here’s the link to the above post. (Archive)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
Conducting a Reverse Image Search of the footage featuring protesters tearing a banner with el-Sisi’s image, the NM team found the same video referenced in an Al Jazeera article, dated September 21, 2019, with a title “Watch… Egyptians tear up pictures of Sisi”. As per the article, the video was recorded during protests in Damietta and Mansoura. At the time, demonstrators called for el-Sisi’s resignation and chanted pro-democracy slogans.
Additional reports from 2019 corroborated these events, with protests erupting in Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez following allegations of corruption against el-Sisi by self-exiled Egyptian businessman Mohamed Ali. Al Jazeera reported that thousands took to the streets in response to Ali’s accusations, though el-Sisi denied the claims.
Additionally, no recent credible news sources have reported any new anti-government demonstrations in Egypt.
Thus, we can conclusively say that the viral video claiming Egypt on the brink of an uprising similar to Syria is Misleading.
