Egypt arrests entire editorial team of fact-checking platform Matsadaash

Six journalists from the Egyptian fact-checking platform Matsadaash have been arrested since Monday, platform officials announced Wednesday, in information confirmed by a local human rights NGO.

"The entire editorial team in the Matsadaash newsroom is now in detention," the platform wrote on Facebook, saying it had not yet received official information about the journalists' place of detention or the charges against them.

According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), whose lawyers represent the journalists, four of the detained reporters were arrested at their homes in the governorates of Cairo, Gharbia and Port Said, while two others, Mohamed Mahmoud and Omar Hilal, were detained "on a Cairo street." 

The campaign began Monday night with raids on the journalists' homes. EIPR said no one has been allowed to contact their families or legal team, adding that "the reasons for their arrest remain unknown."

The arrests bring the total number of Egyptian journalists currently held in connection with their work to 26, according to EIPR.

A platform with a history of run-ins with authorities

Founded in 2018 by the late Egyptian journalist Mohamed Aboelgheit while he lived abroad in London, Matsadaash describes itself as a team of Egyptian journalists dedicated to combating "the cascade of false or misleading news" and fact-checking state and media claims. 

The platform has previously faced targeted harassment, including the 2023 arrest of one of its journalists following its coverage of a story involving a private plane seized in Zambia carrying millions of dollars in cash and gold, whose passengers included Egyptian security officials, defense contractors and gold merchants.

Egypt has long ranked among the world's most repressive environments for journalists, placing 163rd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index.