Controversial television show host Ahmed Moussa, a staunch government supporter, has found himself being mocked by social media users after airing footage showing the ‘success’ of Russian airstrikes in Syria. What Moussa didn’t realize was that the footage he aired was from Apache: Air Assault, a combat flight simulator video-game released in November 2010.

October 12, 2015

Cornelis Hulsman: embarassing

Khaled Hassan: As a 25 years old Egyptian, I am familiar with video games and politics, but, I have never seen video games used in such a way to promote for a political point of view. Mr. Moussa used the video game to prove how precise and serious the Russians are in their war against ISIS. My main concern is; where did that video come from? And now that he knows that this video is not even real, what will his reaction be? And last but not least; what can Egypt do to make sure that such mistakes are not repeated in the future?    

October 13, 2015

Khaled Hassan: Like many Egyptians, I anxiously waited to see how Mr. Moussa would respond to what was shared and said about him on social media, several Egyptian and foreign media agencies. His reaction was nothing less than surprising and shocking. He first admitted that what he presented on TV was a mistake, we all are humans and we all make mistakes. I agree and wish he would have stopped there, but, he then started explaining why it seemed like he was heavily attacked by everyone. In his understanding, he was attacked because he is continuously exposing and fighting the enemies of the state, whether foreign or domestic. For not less than an hour Mr. Moussa addressed his audience and told them that some people, organizations and countries are plotting and conspiring against him because he -as a patriot- is playing a significant role for the protection of the state. All you need to ask yourself now is: is it possible that everyone was criticizing Mr. Moussa because what he did (whether intentional or not) was simply an unprecedented mistake that grabbed everyone's attention?