Saturday, December 29, 2012

Social Media Politics : MB e-Committees

Before and during January 25 revolution, Egyptian social media users on twitter and Facebook knew very well that the NDP had what we called “e-committee” and now in the new era of the Muslim brotherhood, the e-committee is back even in a much worse way.

Following the NDP path : How did it start !?

After January 25 revolution , it was confirmed that some of Gamal Mubarak's Future Foundation were recruited into some sort of committees that did not only monitor the social media networks but rather spread the NDP’s though and defend Mubarak’s regime too.
The NDP officials from Ahmed Ezz's generation understood the importance of social media from 2008 Mahalla Strike and decided to fight that political movement against Gamal Mubarak using its same weapon : The internet.

These members were allegedly paid LE 1200. They were easily spotted especially that they did not have any followers or few follows and did not change the famous twitter egg avatar.
Those NDP egg tweeps on twitter as well their brothers on Facebook used to spread rumors , attack opposition figures and insult other social media users against Mubarak.

I had my share of those guys. After Jan25 revolution, they moved to support Shafik, Omar Soliman and SCAF but they were pathetic
And as the Muslim brotherhood is following the NDP’s steps in everything .. in a much worse way , it was natural to find MB e-committees spreading like fire.

More sophisticated and More Stupider

The Muslim brotherhood and its e-committees are more organized and spread as well Sophisticated when it comes to Online presence than the NDP. We are speaking about a devoted member base and network not only in Egypt but around the globe.
It is enough to see how RSSD and its young sisters BRQ spread like fire in most of the Arab countries. I am not speaking about the Ikhwan Web and sister Muslim brotherhood websites as I am focusing here on the social media whether Facebook or Twitter or YouTube.
Unlike NDP and Future Foundation , we got real  devoted members who believe in their cause blindly. Believing in the cause blindly leads to stupidity and failure, this is what happened in our case with MB e-committees.
It has become so easy to catch the MB e-committees especially with their stupidity that exposes them badly.
Now we know the techniques of those committees online. Here I gathered their techniques.


1 – Spamming the timelines and comments areas with the comments over and over .. from different Facebook users at the same time !!

And from different accounts too !! It has been discovered now in the Facebook , especially in the Facebook pages like Kolena Khaled Said and other Pages that the MB e-committees go and spam the comments with the same comment , Copy/Paste at the same time too !!!

This always happens when Morsi addresses the public or issues some decisions. My own interpretation that the commandership of MB e-committees in Moktam area thinks that in this way Morsi will appear to have popularity and support !!
Here are some examples
Early last week this comment in Facebook was published after the news of releasing Safwat El-Sherif from custody. Same comment saying :
Releasing Safwat El Sherif is a proof of this regime’s smartness , it gives the former regime’s icon some safety feeling in order to destroy them forever !!
MB spamming timeine
MB committees in action : Spamming timeline "Exhibit 1' 
See the time difference between the Copycat comments !!
Another example when the MB committees spread rumors about East Cairo district Mostafa Khater, who released the detainees of the MB accusing of being the legal adviser of Ahmed Shafik. “Which is untrue”
Exhibit 2
Exhibit "2"  Spamming FB timeline 
The Third example , two identical comments from Facebook about why the MB’s IMF loan is better the Ganzoury’s IMF loan.
Exhibit "3" : Identical comments 
Fourth example :  I am not a MB but we should give Morsi a chance , ah and I copy paste the comments !!
Exhibit Four "identical comments"
Exhibit Four "identical comments" 
Fifth example : I am an engineer working in petroleum sector and I agree that we lift the subsidiary from the 95/92/90 oil  !!
Ironically, this time we got a Christian Copycat FB commentator !!
Exhibit Five "identical comments"
Exhibit "5" : Identical comments
The last example is from the presidential Palace clashes where 5 supposedly different users copy the same comment that their colleague in work , an engineer was killed.
Identical "6" : Identical commnets
Identical "6" : Identical comments
If you do not read Arabic , you can how the same text is repeated over and over.

2 – Identity twitter theft

Now this is the most controversial technique because we are speaking about online identity theft , oh yes. The MB committees on twitter made these Fake celebrity twitter accounts that seemed to be Pro-Revolutionary , sometimes moderate but most of the time supportive to MB.
There was a major problem that media used to take these tweets as celebs’ quotes when they did not say anything.
The most famous accounts from that kind  We got : Khaled Saleh , Gihan Fadel , Donia Samir Ghanem, Emy Samir Ghanem , Mervat Amin, Ahmed El Sakka , Ahmed Ezz, Amr Saad and Asser Yassin. “These are the ones I know”
Most of these accounts use the names of these popular actors in Arabic whereas the twitter handler says “@xxxFans”
Khaled Saleh and Gihan Fadel have been victims of fake twitter accounts, especially Gihan.
The fake account used her name to post a tweet attacking ElBaradei and that tweet was featured in the media.
Protests led by Amr Moussa , El Siyad Badawy, Mohamed Abu Hamed , ElBaradei “holocaust” and Shafik says that it is a revolution against revolution and you do not want to me not to notice it is a counter revolution
The real Gihan had to deny this statement and even recorded on video that she did not post tweet nor did she attack or mock Dr. ElBaradei.

Amazingly there is another impostor using Gihan’s name on twitter.
I believe this is the first time the revolutionary actor who was among the first to support #Jan25 to appear in front of the camera after the death of her husband.
Just like Fadl , Saleh had to post a video on YouTube denying to own an account on twitter then.

According to El Badil after this video and statements, Khaled Saleh decided to have an official Facebook page and twitter account.
I do not know if that twitter account is his or not.
Another person who got annoyed from these fake tweets is young Emy Samir who found herself to be supportive to all president Morsi’s decisions online and press quoting her despite she did not have a twitter account.
Emy Samir told Bassem Sabry that she got no twitter account.
Her sister Donia had to open an official twitter account to deny all what is said in that fake account.
In the end, Donia had to post a tweet that her sister Emmy does not have a twitter account and that account she is posting from is her only account !!
Eyad Nassar had to confront the fake account through his official personal account forcing it to be closed. Already the popular Jordanian young actor found the fake account spreading tweets about the October Uprising in Jordan supporting it and attacking the king and monarchy. “The fake account changed its name to Free Jordan”
Eyad could have been in real shit in his country if he did not pay attention to that account and acted quickly as that account was a republic system in Jordan directly
I am Eyad Nassar , this is my real account and I do not have any statements about what is happening in Jordan
This was enough reason to see Eyad Nassar who presented Hassan El Bana’s bio on TV from 2 years among Egyptians who took the streets of Heliopolis to protest at the Presidential Palace against Morsi and Muslim brotherhood.
The latest victim of these fake account is actor Asser Yassin. Ironically Asser used to tweet secretly on twitter and “also tumblring secretly” keeping a low profile but after finding this fake twitter account using his name he had to have another official twitter with his name.
I decided to have my own account on twitter because of the so many political quotes and opinions spread in the press and websites allegedly on behalf of me.
After these celebs began to speak , the account admins had to change the bio and say that the following message in the bio
Fans Demo Account and informal & parody..I hope that you enjoy with us..Managed by fans.
Ironically and sadly up till this moment , websites and newspapers still quote these fake accounts as if they were real. Already you will see the copy paste comments and tweets let alone the language used in the tweets, it  makes you wonder if these actors are professional writers.
Of course, our celebs need to know what is verification blue power in twitter to be spared from all that jazz.

3- Spamming polls

It is an old technique , whenever there is an online survey in place in the world about Morsi and his policies , the MB will head in spamming technique to vote for the man and his policies.

It happened before , the best example was during the Time’s person of the year online when we found that Morsi was included. I remember on that day Morsi got thousands of votes in no time compared to Obama or PSY !!
Then we found the MB committees as well supporters all over the worlds were doing their best but for their luck the Presidential palace clashes happened and it seems the Time webmaster found out there was something strange.
Even normal Facebook users in Egypt found in their inbox messages telling them to vote for the President in the Time’s poll.

4- Who will discredit hot girls !?

This is the photo used for avatar
I used to suspect her so much. She was an unveiled cute girl claiming to be ex-liberal yet pro-revolutionary who defends the Muslim brotherhood and President Morsi day and night.
 That was Asmaa El Sayed who had a very active account.
The beautiful girl with brown hair in twitter avatar had many followers admiring both her info and her views.

I had my doubts and I always wondered personally “ is this girl related somehow to some MB !? Is she engaged to some MB member !? how can she have all that inside info ??”

I kept these questions to myself , I am not from that kind to attack other tweeps by doubt except if they do something outrageous like Abdel Rahman Ezz or Ibrahim Farag “both MB”. 
Still it turned out that I was not alone and other tweeps began to suspect especially no one knows her personally and no one met her in real life.
 FYI in Egyptian twitter world, you got these tweeps groups that know each other personally especially those who are involved in a way or another in politics and in the revolution. In fact, there are very few politicized tweeps who keep themselves anonymous.

Then came the biggest surprise of all times on twitter , the avatar of Asmaa is not hers as it turned out to be the avatar of another girl , foreign girl boys spotted it on forums !!
Then we found out that there was no Asmaa after nearly two years and suddenly the account was closed.
After the fall of Asmaa people began to suspect unveiled girls who are defending MB day and night especially pretty ones. In fact, people began to suspect each other on twitter and began to receive DMs from friends asking about that  a tweep whom I follow and whether he or she is real !!

Thanks to Dr. Nermeen Bedair for her amazing work in documenting the tweets and updates of Muslim brotherhood.
I think after this blog post you will have a slight idea about how much the Muslim brotherhood is ok with lying and deception , this is just a tip of the ice-berg.

12 comments:

  1. Zeinobia, I appreciate your work a lot and I try to follow up on your blog whenever I can. Please continue. I would like to thank you and wish you a happy, productive year 2013.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sorry I forgot my name. I am Martina Sabra from Germany.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Zeinobia, faithful followers of your blog often see comments straight out of the MB propaganda machine...Which is a compliment since it means they are taking you seriously!

    ReplyDelete
  4. your blogs are becoming increasingly desperate. The fact that pro islamist blogs abnd comments are becoming more and more prevelant is simply an indicator that they are a majority finding their voice. One day soon the media will also reflect that. You seem to hanker after a dying breed of a minoirty liberal elite controlling the media and social networks!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I believe you are the one who is real desperate to write such comment !! Read the post till the end and try to understand , may be you will get its true meaning.

      Delete
    2. I would not have done you the diservice of not reading first. Furthermore we are all aware of the abuse of social media such as the massive CIA investment in software to 'create' identities. At all levels there is growing abuse and from all political shades. However my point is that you are being disengenuous when you highlight alleged abuses (which as I say all types of dishonest individuals and groups are guilty of)and lump this together with a growing presence of proud young islamists who you cannot dismiss as "mindless slaves" loyal only to a single party. The landscape is becoming increasingly diverse and most have a mature sense that a politician by definition is not going to be a great role model. The prophet hiself said (to paraphrase)that those who seek positions of leadership are the least suited to its excercise.

      When 'revolutionaries' take to the internet to bring forth a mass movement they are "heroes" to you but when the majority of them move on in some shape or form seek to shape their own lives and influence their countires politics they can somehow be discounted. Only the minority of those opposing increased democracy are on the right track (in alliance with a media that better reflects their minority poisition within Egypt). Sadly the '10% Christians' may feel the need to closer associate this group. Is that what you want for Egypt? Why not take stock. Look at the small improvements which surely you cannot deny and work within this context to build Egypt. Fight the right battles. One way or another their has to be an acknowledgment that overtly islamist political parties will win at elections (ipso fact the majority want that). But that shouldnt exclude other muslims or christians who have more liberal interpretations from having full rights. Over time I believe moderate interpretsations of Islam will predominate and in a sense Islam will be taken oput of politics. Historically we are in a re-evaluation stage of a revolution. Media control, business control and many other aspects will need to change and thank God we haven't gone down the violent path of purges, public hangings etc.

      Delete
  5. Great blog post, very useful for outside observers which I think many of your readers are, since this is English blog about Egypt.

    You should just ignore the few peasants of Brotherhood commenting above. They can't diminish the importance of this post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. anonym,12/9 0646.
    i will only tell you this:
    "Und morgen die ganze Welt",
    Links, zwei, drei,
    vier! Mützen ab!
    It is the camp law: people going to their death must be deceived to the very end. This is the
    only permissible form of charity. The heat is tremendous. The sun hangs directly over our heads, the white, hot sky quivers, the air vibrates, an occasional breeze feels like a sizzling
    blast from a furnace. Our lips are parched, the mouth fills with the salty taste of blood, the body is weak and heavy from lying in the sun. Water!A huge, multicoloured wave of People loaded down with luggage pours from the train like a blind, mad river trying to find a new bed. But before they have a chance to recover, before they can draw a breath of fresh air and look at the sky, bundles are snatched from their hands, coats ripped off their backs, their purses and umbrellas taken away.
    "But please, sir, it's for the sun, I cannot . . . "
    "Verboten!" one of us barks through clenched teeth. There is an S.S. man standing behind your back, calm, efficient, watchful.
    "Meine Herrschaften, this way, ladies and gentlemen, try not to throw your things around,please. Show some goodwill," he says courteously, his restless hands playing with the
    slender whip."Of course, of course," they answer as they pass, and now they walk alongside the train somewhat more cheerfully. A woman reaches down quickly to pick up her handbag. The
    whip flies, the woman screams, stumbles, and falls under the feet of the surging crowd.Behind her, a child cries in a thin little voice "Mamele!"—a very small girl with tangled
    black curls.The heaps grow. . A thin, pock‐marked S.S. man peers inside, shakes his head in disgust and motions to our group, pointing his finger at the door.
    "Rein. Clean it up!"We climb inside. In the corners amid human excrement and abandoned wrist‐watches lie squashed, trampled infants, naked little monsters with enormous heads and bloated bellies.We carry them out like chickens, holding several in each hand."Don't take them to the trucks, pass them on to the women," says the S.S. man, lighting a cigarette. His cigarette lighter is not working properly; he examines it carefully."Take them, for God's sake!" I explode as the women run from me in horror, covering their eyes.The name of God sounds strangely pointless, since the women and the infants will go on the trucks, every one of them, without exception. We all know what this means, and we look at each other with hate and horror.
    It must be pathological, I just can't understand . . . "
    "Ah, on the contrary, it is natural, predictable, calculated. The ramp exhausts you, you rebel—and the easiest way to relieve your hate is to turn against someone weaker. Why, I'd even call it healthy. It's simple logic, compris?" He props himself up comfortably against theheap of rails. "Look at the Greeks, they know how to make the best of it! They stuff their
    bellies with anything they find. One of them has just devoured a full jar of marmalade.""Pigs! Tomorrow half of them will die of the shits.""Pigs? You've been hungry."
    "Pigs!" I repeat furiously. I close my eyes. The air is filled with ghastly cries, the earthtrembles beneath me, The morbid procession streams on and on—trucks growl like mad dogs. I shut my eyestight, but I can still see corpses dragged from the train, trampled infants, cripples piled on top of the dead, wave after wave . . . freight cars roll in, the heaps of clothing, suitcases andbundles grow, people climb out, look at the sun, take a few breaths, beg for water, get into the trucks, drive away. And again freight cars roll in, again people . . . The scenes becomeconfused in my mind—I am not sure if all of this is actually happening, or if I am dreaming.
    There is a humming inside my head; I feel that I must vomit.

    yes,anonym 12/9 0646."Alles verstehen,".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i would stay off the pipe if i was you mate!!!

      Delete
  7. Zeinobia, when and how did Jihan Fadel's husband die?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Aha. I see from Googling that Jihan's husband Amr Hamdi died unexpectedly on July 13, 2012 of a heart attack.

    ReplyDelete
  9. A friend of mine and I have found a fake twitter account of a foreign sympathizer with the liberals. It's not clear who is behind the account, but the fact is whoever it is does not have the name they use on the account and they are pretending to be in Egypt and then come up with bogus excuses to avoid events. Sockpuppet accounts abound on all sides of the political spectrum. The good thing though is the majority of Egyptians are still not FB or Twitter uses and cannot fool or be fooled by liberals or MB with these tactics.

    ReplyDelete

Thank You for your comment
Please keep it civilized here, racist and hateful comments are not accepted
The Comments in this blog with exclusion of the blog's owner does not represent the views of the blog's owner.