Mada Masr. History of Egyptian Online Newspaper That Started on a Beach

Illustration: www.madamasr.com/en

The first media outlet in this story was Al-Masry Al-Youm, launched in Egypt in June 2004. Struggles with censorship in its English-language edition led its journalists to create a 24-page weekly newspaper, Egypt Independent, on November 24, 2011. However, in April 2013, the publisher’s management informed the team that the paper would be shut down. In response, editor-in-chief Lina Attalah and a group of like-minded journalists established a new online news platform: Mada Masr.

The idea for this new venture was born on a beach. The sound of the sea, warm sand, and a group of unemployed journalists. They had past successes and failures, completed projects and dreams yet to be realized. They spoke Arabic and English. In short, they were ready for their next challenge: launching their own newspaper. There was no need to print it - thanks to the internet, they knew how to reach an audience digitally. That was their first step. The second was choosing a name. They later recalled:

“We needed an Arabic word that was easy to pronounce in English but also reflected our practice of independent, progressive journalism. That’s how we arrived at Mada. It is an Arabic word meaning range, scope, or span, but it is also the place where a stone is set into a ring - a symbol of taking a position.”


Masr, on the other hand, is the English transliteration of the Arabic word for Egypt. The third step was securing an office. That, too, was achieved - though not without difficulty. They chose Giza’s Dokki district as their headquarters.

The Artists from Egypt Independent

On June 17, at the first editorial meeting, everyone sat on the floor because there were no chairs. There were no desks or money either. But there was passion, 17 ready articles, and rent paid out of pocket by their editor-in-chief. A nameplate on the door read: Office of the Artists Formerly Known as “Egypt Independent”.

Their launch was scheduled for June 30, a day when Egyptians planned mass protests against their government. When the journalists left Egypt Independent, they promised their readers they would return. Lina Attalah wrote: “We leave you with the hope of a swift return - stronger, undefeated, and ready for an unrelenting journey into the uncharted territories of storytelling.” They kept their word, returning on Sunday, the last day of June 2013, under Attalah’s leadership.

Attalah refuses to back down. She always stands on the front lines. This was the case in 2011, when she reported on the Egyptian revolution, and later during wars in Syria and Iran. Although she studied journalism at the American University in Cairo, she learned the craft on the ground - on the streets and in protests. When she launched Mada Masr, she was only 30 years old, full of passion, and rich in experience. Four years later, in 2017, she was recognized by Time magazine as a leader of a new generation and the “muckraker of the Arab world.”

When Attalah and her team founded their online newspaper, their principles were straightforward:

• The paper would be independent and democratically run.
• Ownership would belong to all employees (average age: 25).
• Articles would be written in both Arabic and English.
• Investigative journalism would be the main focus.
• Funding would come from advertisements, translation services, and research.

The website was divided into several sections:

• News
• Politics
• Economy
• Environment
• Culture
• Lifestyle
• Opinions

Special attention was given to the last section: Opinions. Not only did journalists contribute to this section, but they also carefully listened to the voices of Egyptian citizens.

When Emotions Take Over

The first day at work was relatively calm, though it brought reports of protests. Just three days later came the moment of truth and a test of loyalty - a coup d’état. The military seized power.


They began by translating the military’s declaration into English, followed by daily reports on 30 deaths during protests, the funeral of one of the victims (Mahmoud Sobhy), multiple versions of his death, and how funerals turned into demonstrations. Jahda Khalila covered these events.

Jano Charbel reported on the struggles within national labor unions and professional syndicates, where “divisions emerged, and leading members of these associations sided with either the new ruling elites or the ousted regime of the former president.”

Lindsey Parietti, Sherif Zaazaa, Mai Shams El-Din, Sara Kar, and Mohamed Meshad all wrote about the protests, the deposed president and his supporters, military violence, as well as inflation, religious tensions, newly published books, and the latest films.

Day by day, politics, human stories, and everyday life in Egypt unfolded. Though they tried to remain neutral and report rather than judge, emotions sometimes ran high - and understandably so. This was the case on July 8, 2013, when photojournalist Mohamad Adam documented a protest by supporters of President Morsi at the gates of the Republican Guard Club the previous day: “A coordinated military attack on demonstrators around 4 a.m., using tear gas, birdshot, and live ammunition. Sixty-one people were killed, and 435 were injured.”

Residents of nearby homes confirmed the incident. The article was published at dawn, but other media distorted the facts. Some even used photos of victims from the Syrian conflict. How could emotions not take over?

For the next year and a half, strikes, protests, and military aggression dominated Egypt. Censorship reduced state media to minimal reporting. The Mada Masr website became one of the few independent sources of news from the streets of Cairo. Though politics and the economy were the main focus, as the journalists themselves said: “To get started, besides journalism, we had to wear several extra hats. Some of us became fundraisers. Others leveraged business development knowledge to try to build a sustainable model. Artists took care of our physical space and virtual appearance. Semi-geeks explored what technology could promise journalism before building and expanding our website. And we all took on minor tasks - doing whatever needed to be done to keep the organization running.”


And they kept going. One of these “universal journalists” was site co-founder Sherif Zaazaa. He earned a bachelor`s degree in economics and was highly skilled in the field. But his expertise extended beyond economics and energy research - he also wrote essays and articles on music, religion, and Eastern philosophy. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Mada Masr’s commercial director. Today, he works as a client development manager at the Dutch company Covestro.

The Pen and the Lens

While Lina Attalah ensured the quality of content and editorial direction, the humor and morale of the newsroom were kept alive by Andeel, a cartoonist, screenwriter, and comedian. His journey as an artist began at age 17 with the newspaper Al-Dostour. Later, he contributed to Al-Masry Al-Youm and Egypt Independent, all while creating the quarterly comic magazine Tok-Tok.

His work is often described as political humor. But Andeel’s talents extend beyond humor. He also designs various pages of Mada Masr and writes columns, such as “Egypt Is Close, and There Are Women in It” (March 2, 2015) and “I Didn’t Go to Tahrir” (January 28, 2016). Today, cartoons form a separate section of the publication, and Andeel collaborates with Aly Galal and Mohab.

Another fascinating figure in the Mada Masr team was David Degnera. An American photojournalist, he moved to Cairo in 2010 after living in China. He was one of the few photographers who covered Eastern Libya, documented events in Bahrain for Time magazine, and twice worked in Syria, photographing both government forces and rebels. Many of his images appeared on Mada Masr’s site, but as he once said about himself: “Three of my favorite personal projects are contemporary miracles, whimsical portraits of pigeons, and mahraganat music.”

Like many of his colleagues at Mada Masr, he also wrote articles - mostly about photography but also about street puppet performances (“The Puppet Group,” April 23, 2014). Today, he lives in Boston as an independent photographer, leaving behind a strong legacy of students in Egypt who carry on his work.

Curiosity, Comfort, and Women’s Rights

In May 2014, the presidential election was won by the leader of the 2013 coup, Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. This meant that the military remained in power with unchecked authority, the president ruled with an autocratic hand, and the elections were neither free nor fair.

Mada Masr journalists took a frontline stance, keeping a close watch on the new government. They held the previous administration accountable, accused the new one of corruption and dishonesty, reported on the struggles of the healthcare system, and supported student and women’s protests. As Progressive International described it, Mada Masr’s journalists “practice an investigative form of journalism that constantly challenges, questions, and offers different possibilities. Their goal is to comfort the suffering and give a voice to the voiceless.”

That was their mission then, and it remains so today. One of their longstanding focuses has been women and their status in Egyptian society. Initially, this topic was covered under the politics and lifestyle sections, but when a dedicated social section was launched in 2016, it took on the responsibility of addressing women’s issues and mental health. One of the most important projects in this section consisted of two series:

• Abortion Tales – Journalist Ghadeer Ahmed interviewed women who had undergone abortions, weaving literary elements into their stories.
• Neither Pathologization nor Romanticization – Individuals struggling with mental health conditions presented their artistic works.

This new section aimed to “explore and understand how social forces - class, gender, disability, religion, etc. - are experienced in Egypt by focusing on personal narratives, examining how individuals navigate social structures and power dynamics at the intersection of the macro and micro.”


Women’s issues were also featured in the Panorama section, dedicated to photojournalism. One standout piece was a 2017 report by Rava Shaker, titled “Inside Egypt’s Women’s Prisons,” published for International Women’s Day.

When Mada Masr was launched, the majority of its team members were women, so it’s no surprise that these topics were frequently covered. Even today, with a nearly equal gender balance in the newsroom, one of the main sections remains Sexual Assault.

The Government Doesn’t Like Watchdogs. Website Blocked

Mada Masr quickly gained popularity among young Egyptians, and its reports were frequently cited by international media. This displeased the government, particularly as the outlet’s investigative journalism exposed high-ranking state officials. Although censorship was not officially declared, on May 24, 2017, the Mada Masr website disappeared from the Egyptian internet.

Alongside Mada Masr, 21 other websites were blocked, including the Al Jazeera news portal, television channels Al-Sharq and Arabi 21, the financial newspaper Al Borsa, and the Arabic edition of The Huffington Post. All these media outlets were accused of “supporting terrorism and spreading lies.”

Mada Masr’s management sent inquiries to all responsible institutions, asking: “What does it mean when a legally operating news website is blocked without legal notice in a country that still pretends to uphold the rule of law?” No response ever came.

Despite the block, Mada Masr continued to publish. It was a test of the journalists’ ability to leverage social media and circumvent obstacles. They informed their audience about the issue via Facebook and Google, while their content, still accessible abroad, covered topics such as:

• A deadly Islamic State attack on a bus carrying Christian workers to a monastery in Upper Egypt.
• A proposed law on NGOs that threatened human rights.
• Arrests of political opposition figures and LGBTQ individuals.
• Problems facing the music industry.
• The continued blocking of other news websites.

In one of her articles, Lina Attalah wrote: “In moments of crisis, in times of direct confrontation with state power, we did not sink into despair; instead, we engaged in politics. As a political platform, we recognize and seize moments of opportunity, even when they come wrapped in crisis.”

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The website remained blocked, but the journalists kept working - following the old saying, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” The team took advantage of the situation to explore a new question: “What would Mada look like if it focused more on visual content? How could we maintain the integrity of these images to tell stories beyond the accompanying interviews and soundbites?”

The first video projects in 2017 included:

• Andeel, Mada’s co-founder and cartoonist, presenting satirical solutions to Egypt’s problems.
• Journalist Mostafa Darwish visiting small-scale artisans in their workshops.

This led to the creation of a video content division, which quickly grew. Some videos were better than others, but the team never got discouraged. They learned from their mistakes, working to find “their own form, language, and identity.”

Mada Masr Under Fire. Constructive and Useful Criticism

Despite its successes, after four years on the digital media landscape, Mada Masr had not avoided mistakes. In December 2017, the leadership conducted a critical analysis of their work. They invited political analyst Amr Abdel Rahman and journalist Dina Ezzat to the newsroom for an honest review of the site. The guests pointed out:

• A focus on high-level politics at the expense of grassroots issues.
• A lack of fieldwork and investigative reports.
• A shortage of supplementary headlines beyond expected coverage.
• A mechanical writing style.

The editorial team, including Hossam Bahgat, Haitham Gabr, Omar Said, and Shady Zalat, accepted the criticism but also defended their approach. The discussion was constructive and insightful, leading to the decision to hold another review in the future.

Criticism was not limited to management discussions. The culture and social sections also engaged in self-evaluation, all with the aim of improving, becoming more reliable, and better serving society’s needs.

The website remained blocked. Appeals and lawsuits did not help, but this did not stop Mada Masr from reaching a broad audience. While access within Egypt required mirror sites, the platform remained fully available abroad. By September 2018, the portal had recorded:

• 209,337 followers on Facebook,
• 111,939 on Twitter,
• 21,568 on YouTube.

These numbers continued to grow.

Arrests and a Raid on the Newsroom

In September 2019, a new wave of protests erupted against the rule of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, corruption, declining living standards, and other long-standing grievances. The global press covered the demonstrations, with many reports citing Mada Masr.


On November 21, journalist Shady Zalat published a report on President Sisi’s son, Mahmoud al-Sisi. Based on interviews with intelligence officials, he accused the president’s son of incompetence, nepotism, and corruption. Two days later, Zalat was arrested at his home. The portal reported: “Four plainclothes security officers, who did not identify themselves or present an arrest warrant, entered the apartment while uniformed officers waited outside. They detained Shady, confiscating his laptop, his wife’s laptop, and several documents related to his work.”

No one at Mada Masr knew where Zalat had been taken, but news of his arrest spread quickly, sparking international outrage. Scholars and journalists voiced their support. Timothy Kaldas, an Egypt expert, tweeted: “Anyone following Egypt, any news outlet covering Egypt, and every researcher on modern Egypt relies on @MadaMasr and its outstanding reporting. Please amplify this incident and demand Zalat’s release.”

Attalah responded: “We are all in danger. If we don’t resist, we will all become their prisoners. As Shady’s colleagues, our only option is to fight for his safety and for our ability to continue our work.”

Two days later, at 1:30 PM, “nine armed men in civilian clothing” stormed the Mada Masr newsroom. When asked who they were, they refused to answer. They behaved aggressively, interrogating staff before arresting Lina Attalah, Rana Mamdouh, and Mohamed Hamama. At 4:30 PM, they left, taking all laptops and computers.

French television journalists from France 24 and two translators, who were interviewing Attalah at the time, witnessed the raid and were interrogated on the spot.

Various international organizations, including Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, condemned the arrests. The journalists, held at the Dokki police station, were released around 5:00 PM. Later, Shady Zalat was also freed.

Egypt’s foreign minister claimed that everything was done legally: “The office [Mada Masr] was operating without the necessary permit. There were no arrests, and the procedures did not exceed inspection, questioning, and investigation. In Egypt, there are no restrictions on freedom of speech unless it directly incites action against state institutions or violates the constitution and the law.”

The world disagreed. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at that time, 25 journalists were unjustly imprisoned in Egypt. During the September protests alone, seven were arrested.

Freedom of Speech. A Risky Game in Egypt

The journalists returned to work, and there was plenty to write about. At the start of 2020, the unresolved case of the murder of Italian student Giulio Regeni in Egypt resurfaced, straining Egyptian-Italian relations.

“Can the climate crisis show us how to break through the political stagnation of our current regimes?” wondered Omar Robert Hamilton in January. In February, a contributor using the pseudonym Supernova pondered, “Where Do Old Lesbians Die?” Meanwhile, the newsroom launched two new sections: the Mada Morning Digest, a daily review of Egyptian press, and Covid-19.


Due to the pandemic, in January 2020, the government extended Egypt’s state of emergency for the 11th consecutive time. The measure had been in place since April 10, 2017, mainly due to insurgent activity in the Sinai region. The official statement declared: “The armed forces and police will take all necessary measures to protect against terrorism, maintain security, and safeguard public and private property and human lives. Anyone who disobeys orders faces imprisonment.”

In April, the state of emergency was extended again, hundreds of detainees saw their temporary detention prolonged, and in May, the world once again heard about Mada Masr and Lina Attalah. The government continued to target the platform and closely monitored its journalists. Another arrest followed.

On Sunday, May 17, near Tora Prison in Cairo, Attalah was conducting an interview with the mother of imprisoned activist Alaa Abdel Fattah when she was arrested by security forces and taken to the Maadi police station “for questioning.”

Attalah was detained for three hours. Her phone was confiscated, and she was denied access to a lawyer. The prosecution “released the journalist on bail of LE 2,000 ($127) after questioning her in case no. 8009 of 2020, El Madai Misdemeanors, in which she was charged with photographing a military facility (Tora Prison) without a permit.”

The incident was described in international media as “an escalating crackdown on free speech linked to Covid-19.”

The World Recognizes Mada Masr

The Egyptian government grits its teeth in frustration, while the portal and its editor-in-chief grow in media influence and receive prestigious awards. In 2020, Mada Masr earned two major honors: the Knight International Journalism Award from the International Center for Journalists and Lina Attalah’s recognition as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. Two years later, Attalah received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres at the knightly rank from the French Embassy in Cairo. She reflects on these and other awards: “Although I am the one being nominated, the editorial team and our readers see these awards as a collective victory.”

Nearly 50 staff members and contributors at Mada Masr strive to defend freedom of speech and democracy - principles they continue to learn and shape. As active participants in Egypt’s media landscape, they inform both domestic and international audiences about politics, economics, and culture. They speak openly about everything - the good and the bad. Since there is plenty of wrongdoing in Egypt, the government does not favor them and obstructs their work whenever possible.

On August 31, 2022, the Arabic-language site published an article titled Expected Purge Among Nation’s Future Leaders Amid Corruption Scandals… Ashraf Rashad Tops the List. Nation’s Future is a party closely tied to the government, holding a majority in both houses of parliament, and Ashraf Rashad is its leader.

Three journalists - Bissan Kassab, Rana Mamdouh, and Sarah Seif El-Din - argued that “state oversight agencies have implicated senior party members in ‘serious financial violations’ that could result in their removal from office.” In short, the piece exposed corruption at the highest levels, alleging that “Ashraf Rashad is suspected of profiting from his position and using his influence to amass wealth and expand private projects.”


The report named several high-profile figures and serious allegations, including moral scandals and covering up legal violations. The article sparked outrage in parliament, leading to accusations against the journalists. On September 7, all three authors, along with editor-in-chief Attalah, were summoned to the prosecutor’s office for questioning.

As usual, they were accused of “defamation, slander of party members, and publishing false information intended to disrupt public order.” After hours of interrogation, they were released on bail - Attalah for 20,000 EGP and the others for 5,000 EGP each - but an investigation was launched against them. At the same time, another charge was leveled against Mada Masr.

A Trial for “Misuse of Communication Channels”

In 2021, Egypt introduced a new NGO law requiring “civil rights organizations and NGOs to register with the government and allow oversight of their operations and funding.” The law bans collaboration with foreign entities, publishing survey results without state approval, and any activities deemed to undermine “national security” or “political stability.” Violators face fines of up to one million Egyptian pounds.

Since 2018, Attalah has repeatedly applied for a license but has been ignored. Authorities remain silent, and the lack of a license became a key argument against Mada Masr during the journalists’ interrogation.

Once again, international organizations and global media outlets came to the defense of Mada Masr’s journalists. On September 14, 2022, in an interview with Deutsche Welle, Lina Attalah commented: “We are currently building our defense strategy in case we are put on trial. We hope this latest crackdown will be just another episode in our fight for survival, and we will continue to apply for a government license. Every day, we report on politics, the economic crisis, and everything else that matters in Egypt.”

On March 7, 2023, the economic division of the Mansoura Criminal Court began the trial of the Mada Masr journalists on charges of “insulting MPs and misusing communication channels.” They face up to three years in prison. The global media community has rallied behind them. Thirty-two international and Egyptian organizations have officially condemned the trial, and Amy Brouillette, director of the Global IPI Network, declared: “This is not the first time Egyptian authorities have pressed baseless charges to intimidate journalists who bravely hold the government accountable… Egypt must dismiss this unjust case and ensure that its courts do not become tools of repression to criminalize journalism and silence critical media. The Global IPI Network stands with the brave team at Mada Masr.”

As the world awaits the court’s verdict, Mada Masr continues to report.

Mada Masr Timeline:

• 2013, June 30 – Launch of the Mada Masr online newspaper
• 2016 – Establishment of the social section
• 2017, May 24 – Website blocked in Egypt
• 2017 – Video section launched
• 2018 – First license application submitted
• 2019, November 21 – Journalist Shady Zalat arrested
• 2019, November 22 – Security forces raid Mada Masr’s office and arrest three journalists
• 2020 – Launch of the Mada Morning Digest and Covid-19 sections
• 2020, May 17 – Editor-in-chief Lina Attalah arrested
• 2022, September 7 – Three Mada Masr journalists arrested
• 2023, March 7 – Trial of three Mada Masr journalists begins

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