EGYPT'S top prosecutor is investigating whether a puppet that appears in a TV advertisement for Vodafone is delivering coded messages about terrorist bomb attacks.
At first glance, the puppet – an elderly widow called Abla Fahita – appears to be an unlikely terrorist. The ad, which shows her trying to find a SIM card used by her late husband, also seems rather innocuous.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fahita tells a friend that she has asked to use a sniffer dog at a shopping mall to help search for the missing SIM. She also discusses another character she calls Mama Touta.
Egyptian prosecutors were alerted to the ad's alleged subtext by a video-blogger and youth activist called Ahmed Spider. During an appearance on Egyptian TV, the 25-year-old claimed the mall and the dog were code words for the locations of bomb attacks. Mama Touta, said Spider, is a code word for the Muslim Brotherhood.
"These elements tell us that there will be a big mall and an explosion after a dog fails to find the bomb in a car," Spider said. Vodafone has denied the allegations.
-
Groypers: the alt-right group pulled into the foregroundThe Explainer The network is led by alt-right activist Nick Fuentes
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
How to put student loan payments on pauseThe Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
