Monday, February 13, 2017



EGYPT’S MEDIA. JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE.

When I read this article, it was clear to me I was looking at a story within a story. Upfront, the theme was simple, was Egypt attempting to control the media information process in Egypt? If that was all this story was truly about, the opening paragraph would have been enough and you could have printed this story and a 3 by 5 card! Yes. Egypt is always looking to control the press and Egypt is not alone in the region or the world in trying to do so. Controlling information is a timeless tool of governance. The idea of Sisi using a military man, a General, to attempt further control, for that is what we are truly talking about here, of the Egyptian news media, well, does that surprise anyone?

Story in the story:

What did the Author of this article miss? What was the real issue overlooked?  Egypt already controls a large segment of the media and as the Author stated, the state owns numerous media outlets in Egypt. The problem is, the ownership is not working! It’s not working in Egypt and it’s not working in just about every corner of the world where government is trying to own, shape the message heard, seen by the rest of the world. Oh, by the way, that same attempt is being made by the “West” as well, it’s just a much more professional process. Just asked George Soros about this plan to put Hillary in the White House. Governance has seen the ability to control information as the key to staying in power for thousands of years. The problem is, technology has made that virtually impossible.
What Sisi has missed, and it could be he and his team know they have missed it, is the fact that no government can completely control social media. Yes, nations like China are taking huge steps to try to do so, but even the Dragon cannot keep the lid on 1.4 BILLION people trying to communicate. Even when the approach is based on punishing those who do try to communicate, such as the Iranian crackdown on satellite dishes, it simply doesn’t work. From the standpoint of governance, social media is the pores object known to the Human Race. Redundant, and globally diversified, social media, in the eyes of governance, is the gift that keeps on giving!

Control:

Is it actually possible to control information in the 21st century? Here is the most frightening answer you can imagine. Yes!  Single point of failure! Think of this from a targeting issue. If you had to stop the ability to communicate, not just of your enemy’s military or government, but of the people who support them or yes, even your own people, how would you do it? Yes, I’ve heard the argument time and time again about the redundancy of the global satellite network and I’m here to tell you, the trust is such a redundant concept is based on hope and “hope” is not a plan!
Satellites are they key to the human races ability to communicate at the rate nearly everyone has come to expect. Gone are the days of sending a letter and waiting two weeks, if you were lucky, to hear back from someone or some group.  In today’s world, the second someone hits, “send” they are sitting there waiting on a reply. Sad, but true! So, if a government wants to disrupt, a form of control, communications, then where do you think they may head? The good news is, only a very few nations have the ability to do such damage, at least for now. The real bad news is, a few of those nations are run but madmen!
Look, it’s not new news that oppressive governments are in a state of panic over the impact of Social Media. To be honest, even stable governments and political parties are constantly trying to figure out how to control what takes place on Social Media. The fact of the matter is this. The panic button for stopping communications is not controlling a TV station or a website. The weapon of choice will be the attack on the single point of failure.
Egypt struggles with what its people hear and who tells it to them. Every government in the world that seeks control of what their people hear suffers from the same event. Every government fears the same repercussions.  In a crisis, what is a desperate government willing to do?
As a great author once wrote, it’s a “Brave New World”.

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/02/egypt-army-state-control-media.html

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