CAIRO: Journalism in Egypt has effectively become a crime over the past four years, as authorities clamp down on media outlets and muzzle dissent, Amnesty International said in a report released Sunday.
As the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues to rise, the government is strengthening its control over information, the London-based rights group said, instead of upholding transparency during the public health crisis.
“The Egyptian authorities have made it very clear that anyone who challenges the official narrative will be severely punished,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa director.
Amnesty documented 37 cases of journalists detained in the government’s escalating crackdown on press freedoms, many charged with “spreading false news” or “misusing social media” under a broad 2015 counterterrorism law that has expanded the definition of terror to include all kinds of dissent.
An Egyptian press officer did not respond to multiple calls seeking comment, but authorities have previously denied rights violations and justified arrests on national security grounds.
Following general-turned-president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s rise to power in 2013, most of Egypt’s television programs and newspapers have taken the government position and steered clear of criticism, or else disappeared. Many privately owned Egyptian news outlets have been quietly acquired by companies affiliated with the country’s intelligence service.
But even a pro-government voice hasn’t spared 12 journalists working for state-owned media outlets, who have landed in jail for expressing various private views on social media, the report said.
One of them is Atef Hasballah, editor-in-chief of the AlkararPress website. When he challenged the Health Ministry’s coronavirus case count on his Facebook page last month, he was promptly bundled into a police van and detained on suspicion of “joining a terrorist organization.”
Egypt’s public prosecutor warned in a recent statement that those who spread “false news” about the coronavirus may face up to five years imprisonment and steep fines. At least 12 individuals have been caught up in the COVID-19-motivated crackdown so far, according to Amnesty. Last month, authorities blocked a local news site that covered calls by activists to release political prisoners over fears of the coronavirus spreading in Egypt’s crowded prisons. Separately, Egypt expelled a correspondent for The Guardian newspaper over an article that indicated the coronavirus infection rate may be higher than officially reported.
The journalists interviewed by Amnesty reported increasingly direct state intervention in their coverage. Many working for government-owned or aligned papers said they receive specific instructions via WhatsApp on what to report and to omit. For instance, a directive on how to handle President Trump’s proposal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict this year asked reporters not to mention the plan’s violations of long-standing Arab policies, as Trump and El-Sisi have cultivated close ties.
Those who do not hew the official line, such as by praising prison conditions and smearing the state’s political opponents, “lost their jobs, were interrogated or imprisoned,” one journalist was quoted as saying. “I cannot even imagine that someone could refuse to comply.”
Marking World Press Freedom Day, Amnesty urged Egyptian authorities to halt their censorship, harassment and intimidation of journalists — and to release those detained “solely for carrying out their work.”
Amnesty reports chilling details of Egypt press crackdown
https://arab.news/9h8cm
Amnesty reports chilling details of Egypt press crackdown
- As the number of coronavirus infections in Egypt continues to rise, the government is strengthening its control over information
- Amnesty documented 37 cases of journalists detained in the government’s escalating crackdown on press freedoms
From injury to influence: Khaled Olyan — the new voice of Arab football
- The Saudi social media star — TikTok’s Arab Creator of the Year — recounts how a setback ended his playing ambitions and pushed him to redirect his passion
- Known for memes and commentary that blend football, travel, culture and everyday life, Olyan is FIFA-accredited as a sport informant and covered AFCON 2025 in Morocco
LONDON: A broken dream launched Khaled Olyan’s unexpected rise as a Saudi social media star. Passion and perseverance took him from shattered ambitions to the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 in Morocco, where he surfed the hype while representing Arab culture.
“The journey began with a child who dreamed of becoming a football player to fulfill his own dreams and those of his family and community. After an injury ended that path, I didn’t break, I redirected my passion toward football media,” he said.
In an interview with Arab News, shortly after being crowned TikTok’s Arab Content Creator of the Year, Olyan — who has 13.2 million followers on that platform and 5 million on Instagram — credited his rise to “pure passion and honest content,” and said he had learned over time that “consistency matters more than fast virality.”
He added: “The turning point came when I realized that content can genuinely impact people, not just generate numbers or views. (Then I) stepped outside the traditional sports-content framework and linked football to culture, people, and place. It wasn’t a guaranteed path, but it shaped my identity today as a creator with a clear message and purpose.”
Olyan made history as the first regional creator to be accredited by FIFA as a ‘sport informant,’ a milestone that, he said, has given “local content global credibility and reach.”
Most recently, he was in Morocco to document AFCON, where he highlighted both the host country’s hospitality and the electric atmosphere in the grounds.
“It felt like a responsibility before it was an achievement,” he said. “I felt that my role went beyond coverage to building cultural bridges between people.”
Known for his memes and commentaries blending football, travel, culture and everyday life with feel-good humor, fans hail his “unmatched enthusiasm” and refer to him as “the voice of Saudi football fans.”
“Content today is no longer just entertainment,” he said. “It has become documentation of moments and an influence on collective awareness, especially in sports and culture across the Arab world. That (means there is) a much greater responsibility on everything I create.”
Saudi Arabia’s content-creator ecosystem has evolved dramatically in recent years, driven by a wider national transformation that has reshaped almost all aspects of public life, including sports and entertainment.
“The transformation has been rapid and significant, opening unprecedented opportunities for creators,” Olyan said. As the country moves “quickly toward global leadership in sports,” he added, it has also raised ambitions and created new routes for people to turn dreams into reality.
Across the region, the creator economy is booming, powered by a young audience, government investment and platforms such as TikTok. In 2025, the GCC alone was home to 263,000 social media influencers — a 75-percent increase in just two years according to data from Qoruz, an influencer-marketing intelligence platform.
Globally, fashion and entertainment dominate the influencer industry, but the GCC market has followed a slightly different trajectory. Lifestyle and travel also lead the charts, reflecting both regional affluence and a cultural emphasis on luxury, aesthetics, and experience-led content.
href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86?refer=embed">#خالد_العليان #المغرب #كاس_امم_افريقيا #هدايا #سحوبات ♬ original sound - KHALID ALOLYAN
While sport is not a major category, the research underscores what makes the GCC ecosystem distinctive: high digital penetration, brand-conscious audiences, and multilingual, multi-ethnic creators, with campaign planning often shaped by strategic decisions about language and identity.
Olyan said he sees many regional influencers following the same path as him — though not necessarily through sport. “I believe we are contributing to clearer roadmaps for anyone aiming for success through creative, values-driven content rooted in strong human principles,” he added. “Opportunities are abundant, but the real challenge lies in consistency and maintaining quality amid pressure and high expectations.”
For Olyan, Arab culture is not an add-on to, but the backbone of, his storytelling. He frames the region’s passion for football alongside questions of Arab identity, delivering it in an entertaining format that can travel beyond the usual language barriers.
“What makes sport special is that it’s a universal language. Many non-Arab audiences already follow my content daily, supported by AI tools. Arabic is my language and a core part of my identity, and I won’t change it. Instead, I’ll rely on smart translation tools and solutions to reach wider audiences.”
Olyan also noted that the region has long been framed through the narratives of people from elsewhere, often in ways that highlight only its darker corners.
“The Arab world is full of inspiring stories and a rich culture that deserves to be told through the eyes of its people, not only from the outside,” he said, adding that he hopes viewers value his videos for “changing their perspective and helped them see the truth more clearly.”
Olyan was crowned TikTok Arab Content Creator of the Year 2026 at a ceremony held in partnership with the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai.
He said the recognition was a result of more than just a run of viral moments, explaining that it came about “through structured, institutional work, team development, and linking content to long-term goals. Sustainability comes from creating moments and building value, not relying on trends or short-lived hype.”
Underscoring the double-edged nature of social media, Olyan argued that attention alone is not the point. “Real impact happens when content is used to educate and inspire people, not just capture their attention.”
He also expressed skepticism about banning under-16s from social media. Regulation matters, he said, but “awareness, smart supervision, and teaching safe usage matter more than complete bans.”
Creators, he added, are not immune to the platforms’ darker side. Psychological pressure, mental exhaustion, and long periods away from family due to frequent travel are part of the job. “I manage it through time organization, temporary breaks, and returning with renewed passion,” he explained.
href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86?refer=embed">#خالد_العليان #كاس_العرب #السعودية #المغرب ♬ original sound - KHALID ALOLYAN
Olyan is also the founder of the O15 Football Academy, a project rooted in his childhood dream and one he sees as part of a broader sporting movement gaining traction in the Kingdom. For him, the academy is not just about competition, but about giving children a supportive environment where sport becomes a formative social practice.
“As a child, I wished such an academy existed for me and my friends,” he said. “Many talents were playing in local neighborhoods without professional guidance or support, causing real potential to be lost due to the absence of proper training environments, follow-up, and opportunities. The environment was often challenging and unmotivating.”
His academy aims to identify talent early, develop it “scientifically,” and prepare players to compete at club and national levels, but Olyan added that even those who do not pursue the sport professionally can also benefit “educationally, culturally, and socially.”
Football, he said, is “a form of soft power that, by God’s will, can positively impact many aspects of life.”
Whether creating content or helping others pursue their sporting dreams, Olyan said his guiding principle comes from a line by the late Saudi politician and poet Ghazi Al-Qusaibi — a reminder that what you hope for in small measure can arrive, unexpectedly, in abundance: “You wish for a drop of good news, but God wishes to help you with rain.”
