The official page of the Egyptian Ministry of Interior on Facebook has become highly followed, after it became a major platform for receiving reports via video clips filmed on the street or in homes of accidents or violations, especially after it was strengthened by the rapid response of the police to verify the authenticity of these clips and arrest the accused.
The page ranked second globally among the highest-performing government accounts in the third quarter of 2025, after the US White House, according to a report by the global Emplifi Foundation.
Despite the positive returns of this modern method of facilitating the documentation of crimes and rapid reporting of them, it is not free of stigma and defamation through publishing pictures of people without their permission, and sometimes their innocence is proven, after verifying the circumstances, which may not be clear at first glance.
Negative effects
Despite the importance of electronic distress, which has become faster and easier than going to the police station, political sociology professor Saeed Sadiq believes that it has negative effects, noting that it “turned the private report into a public trial before the investigation was completed.”
Sadiq told Asharq Al-Awsat: “There is a big difference between secret reporting to official channels, whether emergency services or a WhatsApp number to receive reports and calls for help, and publishing a video that shows the face, address, and details publicly. The latter is not only security assistance to control a crime, but it goes beyond that to being an immediate societal punishment.”
Video clips have recently spread with reference to the Ministry of Interior, accusing people of committing crimes, but it later becomes clear that the perception is wrong. Among these incidents that spread widely, a passenger accused a bus driver of kidnapping a child. Given that there was no apparent resemblance between them, it eventually became clear that the child was the driver’s son, after a campaign of bullying against him and his wife as they were “too poor to give birth to a beautiful, flowery child.”
In another incident, cameras were raised to capture a husband and wife quarreling in the street for the purpose of reporting and assistance, without obtaining their permission, but they were harmed by this “defamation.”
Sometimes the matter goes further than that; A 16-year-old minor was killed in the Al-Saf area (south of Cairo) on September 16 by her brother, after her absence was reported and then she was found with a friend in Alexandria.
Innocent until proven guilty
Lawyer Sameh Samir points out that publishing pictures of people without their permission, especially in negative contexts, constitutes the crime of defamation and is punishable by law.
He said: “If a person posts insults and slander against another person on social media without his photo, the ruling is usually a fine. However, if the person cursing and slandering publishes a picture, the sentence will increase to imprisonment,” warning of the danger of members of society turning into “informants” who rush to take pictures and video clips and publish them on the “Interior Page,” often without even understanding the context.
In his interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, he also criticized the security forces’ publication of pictures and video clips of accused persons, even if they were camouflaged, pointing to the constitutional principle and legal basis that the accused is “innocent until proven guilty,” and that publishing these pictures makes it easier to identify their owners, especially among acquaintances and friends.
Sociology researcher Issam Fawzi points out that “intrigue” was present all the time under what is known as “malicious reports,” but it was limited. Due to the financial cost involved in resorting to a lawyer to draft the report; But with the spread of the “internal mention” mechanism, things have become faster and easier.
Despite some of the negative effects of the publication, he said: “It cannot be denied that this mechanism, which received a rapid response from security, contributed to increasing the citizen’s feeling of the security presence, and it actually succeeded in arresting many perpetrators.”
The “deprivation” of photography
The Ministry of Endowments devoted the Friday sermon, September 25, to “the sanctity of photographing individuals without permission, and the sanctity of private life,” according to the text of the sermon it published on Wednesday, stressing that “people’s honors are not public.”
She added: “If there is a video or pictures that prove a truth, the person must submit them to the authorities, not publish them for the purpose of defamation and trend.”
Psychology professor, Jamal Farwaiz, warns of the great risks that some people may be exposed to when they are defamed and presented as accused, even if their innocence later becomes clear.
He said: “The response varies depending on the personality; Neurotic personalities who are susceptible to psychological illnesses may develop depressive symptoms and may think about harming themselves.”
He added: “The higher the person belongs to a social class and the higher his level of education, the greater his chances of having a psychological crisis.”
