Egyptian authorities have arrested six journalists working for independent fact-checking platform Matsadaash, with the Interior Ministry accusing the outlet of operating without a licence and having links to the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
The arrests, which began on Monday, involved the entire newsroom of the platform, which has specialised in fact-checking and verifying news since 2018.
Matsadaash said the whereabouts of the detained journalists were unknown and that no formal charges had been brought against them.
In a statement on Thursday, Egypt’s Interior Ministry said it had identified an “unlicensed online page” called Matsadaash, which it alleged was being managed from abroad and used to spread misinformation and distort facts.
The ministry also alleged that the platform was linked to media committees associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, but did not provide supporting evidence for the claim.
Matsadaash denied having any links to political parties or groups, saying its work had included fact-checking and debunking misinformation from different sources, including material circulated by supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The platform said it had remained committed to professional fact-checking and correcting misleading reports and statements “regardless of their source”.
Lobna Darwish, head of advocacy at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, described the arrests as part of what she called an increasingly difficult environment for journalists in Egypt.
“Within 24 hours, six Egyptian journalists were arrested. It is unprecedented for the entire editorial team of a news platform to be arrested,” Darwish told AFP.
Mahmoud Kamel, a board member of the Press Syndicate, said the arrests occurred against what he described as a broader environment of restrictions on press freedom.
According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the latest arrests bring to 26 the number of journalists detained in Egypt in connection with their work.
Many detained journalists subsequently face charges including “spreading false news”, according to rights groups.
Matsadaash has frequently fact-checked statements by Egyptian authorities and government agencies. Its recent reports included a review of Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty’s comments on the number of refugees in Egypt and a report concerning appointments within the public prosecution system.
Darwish said the arrests demonstrated the growing risks faced by journalists in Egypt, warning that the impact of restrictions on the media could extend for years.
