Egyptian State Television Bias Survives the Revolution

In the wake of renewed clashes in Tahrir Square, state television reverted back to its pre-revolution bias of revering authority and maligning the rebels.

Cairo - As Egyptian state television continues to display its hostility to protesters in Tahrir Square, the youth of the revolution have found new ways to ridicule the state channel. During the revolution, the youth used the slogan: “Lies, exclusively on Egyptian television.”

Following the Maspero massacre last month, activists circulated a photo of a man with the head of a donkey, because he was dumb enough to watch state channels.

It did not take Egyptians long to pick up on the biased policy that information minister Osama Heikal and the television administration adopted in their coverage of the Tahrir clashes.

Less than two hours after the outbreak of confrontations between protesters and the police, those guests who had been condemning the recklessness of the security forces on the state channel since Friday night, suddenly disappeared.

They were replaced by a list of guests that had been prepared beforehand. This line-up included pro-regime commentators despised by many Egyptians. Newscasts also started to depict protesters as “rioters.”

Maspero reporters described the incidents as “violent actions committed by those present in Tahrir Square and confronted by security forces, along with shopkeepers and residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.”

Mortada Mansour, a famous lawyer who is among those accused of the “Camel Battle” incident, attacked Tahrir’s revolutionaries from Maspero’s TV screen.

This was followed by a barrage of denunciations against the protesters that echoed state media propaganda during the revolution. There was no mention of the deaths and injuries that the security forces caused in their brutal crackdown.

Although state television reporters often repeated that they were present in the square, it seemed as though they were unaware that a number of their own colleagues had sustained injuries at the hands of the police.

Maspero’s reports failed to report on a statement issued by the journalists’ syndicate that it intends to take legal action against the interior ministry after a number of journalists and bloggers were badly wounded on Saturday.

One blogger, Malek Mostapha, and Al-Masry al-Youm photographer Ahmad Abdel Fattah both lost an eye while covering events in the square. Omar Zuhairi, a photographer for Tahrir newspaper, sustained a foot injury, while Rasha Azb, a journalist at al-Fajr newspaper, received an injury to the face.

Not all statements were, however, ignored by state media. Egyptian television repeatedly broadcasted the interior ministry’s statement that denied the use of live ammunition against protesters.

Private channels avoided repeating the same mistakes they committed during the January revolution, but they certainly did not take the side of the activists. Instead, they chose to offer advice to the current regime on how to overcome the crisis, by suggesting the formation of a national salvation government.

Many kept their eyes on Channel 25 who had a large number of reporters in the square.

But the most important media event occurred on Sunday at midnight, when the vice president of the January Martyrs and Wounded Fund, Major General Mohsen Fangari, called al-Hayat channel and the BBC.

Fangari claimed that those in Tahrir Square “do not represent the Egyptian people,” in addition to other outlandish accusations. Yasmine Said, host of al-Hayat al-Aan, and BBC anchor Khairi Ramadan avoided engaging Fangari.

Both asked Fangari several times to name those groups that he said were “planning to create chaos.” Fangari refused and stuck to his statements that the protesters were to blame.

Once again, memories of the early days of the revolution dominated the Egyptian scene. Facebook users humorously commented that they expect Omar Suleiman to reappear and announce the resignation of Field Marshal Tantawi and the return of Hosni Mubarak to rule the country.

On Saturday night, a rumor was circulated that Maspero staffers attempted to interrupt transmission in protest of biased coverage against the revolution. However, security forces were quick to intervene.

Meanwhile, the official website of the state television channel was hacked on Friday for several hours in response to its biased coverage.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.