Abstract
The digital communication boom in Egypt presents higher unpredictability to multinational companies operating in different countries. This gives unprecedented ground to rumours on all levels, economic, social and political, with the rise of Web 2.0. It is essential for research to keep pace with these changes, where social media has changed the game and Internet users are no longer passive players, but they can actively create and spread rumours. This chapter presents a new approach by analysing three concrete case studies of commercial rumours on Facebook in Egypt. The cases belong to different business sectors such as telecommunications, dairy products and FMCG. The data is collected using multiple tools together with online observation (netnography) and some semi-directive interviews with key players involved in the dissemination process. This chapter argues how socio-cultural differences and filters in Egypt affect rumour dissemination. The analysis involves the anatomy of initiators and type of interactions on Facebook until the debunking process. The results obtained in this chapter, and the main techniques used, can naturally extend to other countries and to another type of similar digital platform.
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Notes
- 1.
According to the statistics of the study of the stat counter site. Link to the study: https://gs.statcounter.com/social-media-stats/all/egypt/2019 retrieved on 30 October 2019.
- 2.
Study conducted statistically by Napoleon Cat, link to https://napoleoncat.com/stats/facebook-users-in-egypt/2019/09 retrieved on 30 October 2019.
- 3.
Survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) between 21 December 2018 and 10 February 2019. The survey was conducted in twenty-five economies—Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States—and involved 25,229 Internet users. Available on 2019 CIGI-Ipsos Global Survey—Part 3 Social Media, Fake News & Algorithms. Source available on https://www.cigionline.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019%20CIGI-Ipsos%20Global%20Survey%20%20Part%203%20Social%20Media%2C%20Fake%20News%20%26%20Algorithms.pdf retrieved on 17 June 2019.
- 4.
Link to the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew65Tds3a_o&feature=youtube_gdata_player retrieved on 17 October 2019.
- 5.
The title was scripted using Arabic and English words on the original video on YouTube.
- 6.
Link of the debunking published on Facebook by “Da begad”. Retrieved on 30 April 2018. https://www.facebook.com/DaBegad/photos/a.178588762292398/644216762396260/?type=3&theater.
- 7.
Link to the rumour on Facebook, retrieved on 30 April 2018: https://www.facebook.com/tora.for.u/photos/a.139055169499755/1157449647660297/?type=3&theater.
- 8.
Equivalent to $9.
- 9.
All hashtags were copied as they were launched originally even if they may contain some spelling mistakes.
- 10.
Link to the study: https://www.quintly.com/blog/new-facebook-reaction-study. Accessed on 17 September 2018.
- 11.
In the Egyptian Constitution (URL link: https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Egypt_2014.pdf), according to article 2, “Islam is the religion of the State and Arabic its official language. The principles of the Islamic Shariah are the main source of the legislation”. The preamble states that “their interpretation derives from the jurisprudence of the Supreme Constitutional Court”. Retrieved on 16 February 2019.
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Shehata, M. (2021). The Propagation of Online Rumours Slandering Multinational Companies in Egypt. In: Apitsa, S.M., Milliot, E. (eds) Doing Business in Africa. Palgrave Studies of Internationalization in Emerging Markets. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50739-8_14
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