LONDON: Arab News examines a weekly round-up of fake news doing the rounds.
1 Jordan’s media response unit said it has quelled 22 rumors in 36 hours
The head of Jordan’s media response unit at the National Center for Security and Crisis Management said the center has intecepted and quelled 22 fake stories over the past 36 hours.
In an interview with Jordanian TV channel Roya, Ahmad Naimat said several social media accounts were guilty of spreading these stories, adding that he personally does not rule out the theory that this was a “systematic and organized” effort to spread fake news and was no coincidence. He added that the rumors involved stories of people going bankrupt and the owners of investments (and others involved in financial scandals) fleeing the country.
2 Music body denies questioning Egyptian singer over NYE remarks
The Egyptian Music Syndicate has denied reports claiming that it has referred singer Sherine Abdel Wahab for investigation over allegedly insulting her country during her latest New Year’s Eve concert. The syndicate, headed by Egyptian singer Hani Shaker said they have not received any complaint against the famous singer. They also said they have not received any recordings of the NYE concert, during which the singer is claimed to have insulted Egypt, and therefore the syndicate did not take any action against her.
Sherine became the talk of the town following a remark she had made that was deemed “offensive to Egypt.” In her latest concert, the singer “jokingly” told the audience “I’m too good for Egypt” when the mic cut off during one of her performances.
3 Egypt publishers’ union denies ‘confiscation’ of books at Jeddah book fair
Saeed Abdu, head of the Egyptian Publishers’ Union, has denied that some books were removed from the Jeddah International Book Exhibition, which was held from Dec. 26 to Jan. 6.
In statements quoted by Al-Bawaba News, Saeed denied allegations that Egyptian publishers prevented the circulation of certain books at the Jeddah exhibition.
The news comes after one Egyptian writer took to his personal social media account to tell followers that some of his books were removed from the exhibition although he had acquired government permits to showcase them at the event.