Cairo, March 17, 2020 – Egypt revoked the press credentials of a journalist for The Guardian and censured The New York Times Cairo bureau chief on Tuesday over “bad faith” reporting on the country’s coronavirus cases. “The correspondents’ rush to promote incorrect data does not justify them relying on an unpublished… and scientifically unrecognised study,” the State Information Service (SIS) said in a statement. “It shows their intentional bad faith to harm Egyptian interests,” said the SIS, which is responsible for foreign media accreditation.
The statement followed an article by British journalist Ruth Michaelson published Sunday in The Guardian citing Canadian epidemiologists who estimated Egypt’s COVID-19 infections had surpassed 19,000. The SIS also denounced tweets by The New York Times Cairo bureau chief Declan Walsh citing the same figures. Walsh later deleted the tweets following a backlash from Egyptians online.
The North African country has officially reported 166 COVID-19 cases and four deaths, including two Germans and two Egyptians. Michaelson and Walsh declined to comment. A Guardian spokesperson told AFP: “We regret the reports coming out of Egypt regarding the alleged ‘banning’ of the Guardian or our reporter. “We have offered the Egyptian government opportunity to comment and respond to our reporting in the normal way.”
Authorities in Cairo have warned of tough measures, including jail terms, for anyone who spreads false information concerning the virus. On Tuesday, police arrested a “Muslim Brotherhood member” for allegedly
publishing false information about the death toll of the virus. Egypt is the world’s third worst jailer of journalists, according to rights group Committee to Protect Journalists, and has deported foreign journalists in recent years.
