The Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) is seeking to permanently block the news website Egyptke, in a sharp escalation that comes months after the arrest of its editor-in-chief and the owner of its parent company, amid a widening dispute over the outlet’s reporting on poultry imports.
The move came just 24 hours after the council said it had summoned the platform’s legal representative, prompting criticism that it failed to allow sufficient time for a proper hearing before issuing its decision, according to an Egyptke editor who spoke to Al Manassa.
In a statement published Tuesday on its official Facebook page, the council accused the platform of “publishing false news and fabricating incidents that could destabilize markets, negatively affect economic stability, and harm citizens’ interests,” particularly amid the ongoing regional crisis, adding that the website had also failed to meet licensing requirements.
Egypt has for years engaged in widespread blocking of hundreds of websites, including independent media outlets, human rights platforms, and VPN services, observers say, alongside targeting critics who speak out publicly on social media.
“The [Egyptian Journalists] Syndicate categorically rejects all forms of blocking news websites. The syndicate considers justifications such as failure to meet licensing requirements unacceptable,” the syndicate’s leader Khaled Elbalshy said in comments to Al Manassa.
While the council did not specify the allegedly false reports, the move is believed to be linked to coverage of frozen poultry imports, including shipments said to have entered the country without undergoing proper veterinary and health inspections.
The report, a source familiar with the case at the syndicate said, pointed to “suspicions” regarding the safety of these shipments, prompting swift action from authorities.
“The issue [the editors] were questioned about three months ago was related to poultry, and now it’s happening again,” the official told Al Manassa, describing the situation as “puzzling,” speaking on condition of anonymity due to ongoing efforts to contain the escalation. The report was taken down amid the backlash, he added.
The summonses took place based on complaints from the Ministry of Agriculture, SMCR said.
The editor said the reasons put forward by SMCR, were “unclear and lacked specific incidents,” and described claims about negative impact of the published content on the country’s stability or economy as no more than “vague talks.”
He noted that such reporting had previously been published in the press, arguing that the appropriate response would have been an official denial or clarification.
Egyptke is a Cairo-based online news platform operated by Bastet Media, publishing coverage of political, economic, and social news.
In December 2025, security forces arrested its editor-in-chief Ahmed Refaat and CEO Monzer Elkhelaly in home raids, according to the latter's sister and TV presenter Kaswaa Elkhelaly, following a complaint accusing the site of publishing statements falsely attributed to a poultry division official under a headline about “spoiled and dyed poultry flooding the market.”
The Supreme Council for Media Regulation does not have direct authority to block websites, but has approved submitting a request to the National Telecom Regulatory Authority to enforce the measure against Egyptke.
Under Article 17 of its 2019 sanctions regulations, publishing false news or content deemed harmful to state institutions or public interests can incur penalties ranging from fines of up to 250,000 Egyptian pounds to suspension or permanent blocking.
Criticizing what he described as measures of “collective punishment” against media institutions, Elbalshy called for restricting blocking decisions to court rulings as a proper legal safeguard.
The Ministry of Information and the Journalists Syndicate are involved in negotiations with authorities to prevent the censorship of the website where 200 journalists are working.
