Social media, conspiracy theories, and authoritarianism: between bread and geopolitics in Egypt

This article examines the relationship between social media, conspiracy theories, and authoritarian politics in Egypt by studying three conspiracy theories that have become popular in the country in recent years: an alleged Western attempt to starve Egypt after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, an alleged economic war against Egypt, and alleged Western attempts to destabilize the country since the 2013 coup. We discuss the origins, development, and key elements of these conspiracy theories, the common themes being the negative portrayal of Western countries and institutions that are seen to target Egypt through economic warfare and social upheaval. This paper contextualizes conspiracy theories within the larger political and historical context, and examines the affordances of social media, particularly YouTube and Facebook, for the state-led dissemination of conspiracy theories in Egypt.