Egypt scheme is part of growing trend to recruit social media personalities to project an idealised vision
“I’m not political at all, and I make it a point not to be,” says Farida Salem. She chats by phone as she runs errands in Cairo on her way to football practice, where she is celebrated as one of Egypt’s most capable young female athletes.
Salem is also one of 20 Instagram influencers selected by Egypt’s information ministry to work with the government, part of its new media ambassadors programme. Ostensibly about countering the bad press Egypt receives, largely for its poor human rights record, the ministry claims the programme will “support Egypt’s image in the media through these influential youth”. Influencers, they say, will provide a way for the state to communicate directly with its large youth population.
