{"id":16984,"date":"2025-02-13T18:48:18","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T16:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/?p=16984"},"modified":"2026-10-24T15:02:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T13:02:05","slug":"propaganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"How Coordinated Online Accounts Used Gaza and January 25 in a Propaganda Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Immediately after the announcement of the ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance factions and the Israeli government, a coordinated campaign took off on the hashtag #Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving, promoting Egypt’s role in humanitarian mediation and aid, and the campaign soon turned into an attack on the opposition through the hashtag “#25 January Egyptian Police Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

This report reveals the details of this digital campaign through a social network analysis of the interacting accounts, which pointed to systematic amplification of these hashtags, backed by the activity of fake accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Recommended reading: Asylum bill stirs coordinated digital hostility against refugees<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Coordinated Hashtag<\/b><\/h1>\n

After the ceasefire in Gaza, the official media focused on promoting Egypt’s role in pressuring the Israeli government to force acceptance of the truce, and in leading international efforts to end the military escalation and secure humanitarian aid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the same lines, the digital campaign on the hashtag “#Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving” worked mainly to highlight Egypt’s positive role in concluding the agreement, but in-depth research points to an inauthentic pattern of interaction on the hashtag.<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of an in-depth investigation into the digital campaign that took place on the platform “X”, we first collected data from the posts that used the targeted hashtag. We reviewed the information of the participating accounts, including creation date, number of followers and volume of previous activity, to detect any abnormal indicators at the level of interaction. This allowed us to form an initial view of the nature of the users who contributed to spreading the content, and to uncover any patterns that might indicate amplification or coordinated collective engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n

We then relied on social network analysis (SNA) to build an interactive map showing the links between the most active accounts in the campaign. This included measuring degree centrality to identify the most influential accounts in the campaign. Through this analysis, we were able to identify a group of accounts that frequently interact with one another, which may indicate organised coordination on the hashtag.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, we carried out a content analysis that revealed similarities in the tweets and hashtags used, and we also reviewed the timing of the reposting of the same content by several accounts within short periods of time. This step helped us trace the evolution of the political discourse and monitor the different stages of its steering.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Recommended reading: The Egyptian Public Prosecution turns a blind eye to investigating detainees’ torture complaints<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Sudden Surge <\/b><\/h1>\n

Time indicators revealed a sudden rise in the number of posts on the hashtag “#Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving” within closely spaced periods between 19 and 23 January 2025, as total posts exceeded 17,000, achieving a reach of more than 97 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

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A sharp escalation in interaction that peaked on 21 January<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Notably, Saudi Arabia came second after Egypt in the list of countries posting most on the hashtag, with 788 posts originating from it.<\/span><\/p>\n

The “Mostaqbal Watan News” accounts on “X” topped the list of accounts affiliated with websites that interacted most with the hashtag. “Mostaqbal Watan News” is the media platform of the Mostaqbal Watan Party, known for its support of the ruling regime.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reposts made up 45% of all posts on the hashtag, while original posts did not exceed 12%, which is one of the indicators pointing to a coordinated online campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The repost figures on the hashtag “#Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving” lead to the conclusion that its spread was not merely the product of spontaneous interaction; rather, a network of accounts played a pivotal role in amplifying it remarkably. When analysing the nature of these accounts, we found that many of them displayed unusual patterns of activity, such as tweeting continuously at a high rate around the clock, or limiting their activity to posting specific content without any personal interaction. Some of them also had a previous record in similar campaigns. <\/span><\/p>\n

When analysing the nature of accounts interacting on the hashtag, it became clear that they carry no clear personal features, as they lack profile pictures or personal information indicating the identity of their real users, except that they list Egypt as their geographic location.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, a group of accounts with intensive and repetitive activity stood out, such as Aa56547979, Ward7890 and rushyt1. These accounts played a pivotal role in amplifying content linked to the digital campaign through resharing. <\/span><\/p>\n

The last of these accounts was active in the campaign; despite lacking any personal information revealing the identity of its owner, it hints at its online role in its bio by using the hashtag “#Retweet_Gang_for_Followers”, on which a group of accounts with similar digital activities is active.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for the content posted on the hashtag, monitoring revealed the evolution of the messages across two main stages. In the first stage, the campaign focused on highlighting Egypt’s positive role in Gaza and promoting the humanitarian aid it provides. Then, as the anniversary of 25 January approached, the discourse shifted to attacking the Egyptian opposition.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ideologically Driven Accounts<\/b><\/h1>\n

The two accounts @BAHAA0003823628 and @BASSEMELMASSRY emerged as among the main drivers of the campaign. The campaign began on 20 January 2025, when the first posts using the hashtag appeared at 08:35 a.m. UTC. <\/span>The @BASSEMELMASSRY account was among the first users of the hashtag, publishing its first post at 09:21 a.m. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

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Combining the time-tracking data with the network analysis, the hashtag did not see a sudden jump at the start of its spread; rather, it spread gradually until the central accounts within the network mentioned above joined the campaign, which boosted its digital momentum. Analysis of the temporal pattern showed that interaction began to rise a few hours after its launch, as some key accounts helped push the campaign to a wider range, raising the hashtag’s spread to abnormal levels.<\/span><\/p>\n

When analysing the interaction data, it emerged that the total number of reposts for the campaign reached 7,062. Interestingly, the two accounts @BAHAA0003823628 and @BASSEMELMASSRY were responsible for 44.5% of all reposts, indicating their pivotal role in the spread of the campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the network analysis revealed that the greatest influence was not confined to these two accounts alone; another group of central accounts emerged that played the role of intermediary in amplifying interaction, which helped spread the content across wider circles and boost its reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

Accounts such as @Aa56547979, @Ward789000 and @rushyt1 emerged as the most influential accounts in the network, as the analysis data showed that they played a pivotal role in recycling content and reinforcing it within the digital network. These accounts did not merely interact with the hashtag; they acted as a link between different groups of users, allowing posts to be distributed more widely and ensuring their continued circulation.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Propaganda That Never Stops <\/b><\/h1>\n

Analysis of the #Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving hashtags indicates that it was later linked to the hashtag #25_January_Egyptian_Police_Day . Data extracted from the “Meltwater” tool point to an abnormal rise in the number of posts on the hashtags across “X”, recording 48 posts on 21 January compared with zero per day in the preceding period. Analysis of the sources of these interactions also shows that the number of posts on the platform rose 959-fold compared with the normal rate, reflecting a sudden and directed increase in digital activity on the hashtag #25_January_Egyptian_Police_Day.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sentiment analysis showed that 92% of the posts on the hashtag were positive, reflecting the nature of the digital steering towards promoting the anniversary of the revolution as a holiday for the Egyptian police.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding geographic distribution, the data showed that 23 posts on the hashtag came from inside Egypt, a figure 505 times higher than the daily average, indicating an intensive local source leading this campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Recommended reading: Are the Sudanese really the cause of Egypt’s real-estate crisis?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Maestro Again<\/b><\/h1>\n

As we explained above, the digital data showed that the Maestro account (@BASSEMELMASSRY) played a key role in launching and leading the interaction around the hashtag “#Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving” from the first moments of the campaign. The account was among the first users to start posting the hashtag, and on 21 January 2025 the account’s activity gradually moved to the hashtag “#25_January_Egyptian_Police_Day”.<\/span><\/p>\n

This account has wide influence, with 98,502 followers, but the interaction on it does not reflect natural activity, as most of its posts do not receive natural reactions from real followers; rather, they are amplified through repeated retweeting by other accounts connected to it. <\/span><\/p>\n

The data also showed an abnormal rise in mentions of it on “X”, which jumped to 48 mentions on 21 January compared with zero in the previous days. In addition, 23 mentions came from inside Egypt, an increase of 505 times the normal rate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The tweeting pattern followed by the account, together with its connection to other accounts supporting the same discourse, reveals the role of the “Maestro” as one of the core elements of the directed digital propaganda network.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The “Maestro” posts are characterised by exaggeration in describing the state’s achievements, in contrast to the demonisation of opponents through the use of language suggesting threat and instability.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Data analysis revealed abnormal digital amplification on the hashtags #Egypt_Never_Stops_Giving and #25_January_Egyptian_Police_Day, through networks of fake accounts that repeatedly republish content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":11791,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[410],"tags":[],"kateb":[9326],"class_list":["post-16984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-investigations-en","kateb-arabi-facts-hub-afh"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/\u0644\u062c\u0627\u0646-\u0627\u0644\u0643\u062a\u0631\u0648\u0646\u064a\u0629.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16984"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24022,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16984\/revisions\/24022"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16984"},{"taxonomy":"kateb","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zawia3.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kateb?post=16984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}