QUESTIONABLE SOURCE
A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. Please note sources on this list are not considered fake news unless specifically written in the reasoning section for that source. See all Questionable sources.
- Overall, we rate the Middle East News Agency (MENA) as right-center biased and Questionable based on the use of poor sources and the promotion of state propaganda.
Detailed Report
Questionable Reasoning: Poor Sourcing, Pro-State Propaganda
Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER
Factual Reporting: MIXED
Country: Egypt
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: TOTAL OPPRESSION
Media Type: News Agency
Traffic/Popularity: Medium Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY
History
The Middle East News Agency (MENA) is an Egyptian news agency established in 1955 based in Cairo, Egypt. According to its about page, it nationalized and became affiliated with the Egyptian Ministry of Information in 1960. MENA mainly focuses on the president’s statements and activities, covering national and international news, sports, business, politics, and culture. Mena’s website provides news and information in Arabic, English, and French languages.
Please read our report on how Government influences media in Egypt.
Funded by / Ownership
The Egyptian Government owns Middle East News Agency (MENA), with revenue derived from subscriptions. MENA transmits news to its subscribers daily.
Analysis / Bias
The political party Mostaqbal Watn (Nations Future), known as “the party of the president,” is a big tent populist-nationalist-secularist militarist party that fully supports authoritarian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Reporters Without Borders has reported Egypt as “One of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists” According to a Reporters Without Borders 2024 report, Egypt ranks 170 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.
In review, MENA publishes news with neutral headlines such as “Presidential decree extends security measures in Sinai for 6 more months” and “President Sisi meets with the leaders of the armed forces on the occasion of the anniversary of the victories of the tenth of Ramadan.” They heavily quote or utilize factually mixed sources when it comes to sourcing. In general, Middle East News Agency (MENA) is a right-leaning pro-Government propaganda outlet that omits news not favorable to President al-Sisi but reports factually on the news they choose to report.
Failed Fact Checks
- None in the Last 5 years
Overall, we rate the Middle East News Agency (MENA) as right-center biased and Questionable based on the use of poor sources and the promotion of state propaganda. (M. Huitsing 04/15/2022) Updated (05/08/2024)
Source: https://www.mena.org.eg/en
Last Updated on May 8, 2024 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources