An uproar erupted on social media after photographs appeared to show workers removing a graffiti wall in downtown Cairo. While Aswat Masriya reported that the removal of the graffiti is part of a greater move to ‘beautify Tahrir Square’, journalists on the ground have revealed that this is not true. “In the framework of beautifying Tahrir Sqaure, the Egyptian government asked the American University in Cairo to either develop or remove its Science building along with its walls on Mohamed Mahmoud street,” Rehab Saad, Director of Media Relations at the American University in Cairo, told Aswat Masriya in a report that seemed to substantiate claims the Egyptian government is moving to remove graffiti. “The university decided to demolish the walls and replace them by an iron gate,” added Rehab Saad. However, journalist Basil El-Dabh revealed that only a section of the wall at Mohamed Mahmoud has been demolished. “They are not tearing down the entire wall,” tweeted El-Dabh. “For those wondering, part of the Mohamed Mahmoud wall has been taken down to prepare for the demolition of the old AUC science building.” These tweets were supported by Ester Meerman who…
