Egypt… 14 million fake accounts on Facebook spreading rumors about Sudan revealed

Social media experts in Egypt announced the existence of (14) million fake accounts on Facebook in Egypt, which prompted the Egyptian parliament to take action and demand the government take the necessary measures to eliminate fake accounts.

According to the experts, the accounts are related to the Sudanese crisis, as media rooms closely linked to the Sudanese Army, spreads rumors and misleading information to the Sudanese, especially after the outbreak of the war. The media rooms are managed by a group of journalists and activists loyal to the Islamic Movement, with direct funding from Hisham Al-Sobat.

Samira Al-Jazzar, a member of the Egyptian House of Representatives, submitted a request for a briefing to Counselor Hanafy Gebaly, Speaker of the House, to be presented to both Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, regarding this phenomenon.

She wondered how the government’s warnings against the spread of rumors via social media would continue in light of the existence of these accounts, and what mechanisms the government can utilize to control this dangerous phenomenon.

According to cybersecurity and cybercrime experts, the term “fake accounts” on social media refers to files that aren’t linked to a real person or are created using a person’s data without their consent. These accounts are usually called “scam accounts” or “sock puppet accounts.”

These accounts are usually created for several reasons, that include impersonation to extort money from followers, through fraud and harassment of people online, or the desire to destroy a specific person’s reputation, as well as spreading false information and promoting hate speech, in addition to leaving false comments or complaints to harm brands.