Thursday, September 8: Press Freedom
Sounds nice in theory, right? But then people might say mean things about you :(
Our top story today takes us to Egypt, where four journalists have been charged with criminal offenses in a continued effort to punish and intimidate those brave enough to critique the failing administration. One of Egypt’s last remaining independent news outlets, Mada Masr is known widely for delivering investigative journalism published in both English and Arabic. It has been a critical source of news, and an increasingly rare source of independent reporting, as most other major outlets have come under state control.
The journalists were charged with criminal offenses yesterday, in the government’s most recent attempts to hurt the publication for its reporting. Their charges include publishing fake news, misusing social media and insulting members of Parliament, and they seem to stem from this article published last week on corruption and changes in leadership within the Nation’s Future Party, the ruling party. Rather than disproving or contesting the article’s claims, the political party went the route of making threats against female journalists doing their work under extreme pressure.
The risks these women face require no exaggeration. Press freedoms in Egypt are perilously fragile, and circumstances can change based on the whims of a dictator. It’s an extremely dangerous profession (certainly braver than the troops), and particularly necessary work in a society that treats knowledge as a weapon too dangerous for the general public.
Side Items
“America Has a Problem”: a gunman livestreamed himself shooting and killing random strangers as he drove around metropolitan Memphis yesterday. He was eventually arrested, but not before killing four people and wounding three others. This kind of thing only seems to happen in one country
Ding-Dong? One day after meeting the new PM and I’m hearing whispered reports that the Queen of England’s health has taken a turn for the worse. Her state of wellbeing is generally protected better than nuclear launch codes, but there’s no known cure for being an old crusty-ass colonizer. Let’s all wish for a speedy transition and brief memory of her existence as an artifact
Tiafoe still dancing! Young king Francis won his quarterfinal match yesterday, besting Andrey Rublev in three sets to become the first American in a US Open semifinal since 2006. Keep going Francis!
Liverpool got absolutely flattened yesterday by Napoli in the opening match of Champions League play. The final score was 4-1, but could’ve easily been six or seven goals conceded by the Reds. Not the finest hour to be a Liverpool fan, I’ll admit, but at least we didn’t fire our coach unexpectedly lol