By Daniel Nour, contributor, EgyptianStreets.com Egypt’s Bassem Youssef was much more than a mere comic, or an entertainer: as the host of a weekly fake news programme, he was an integral cog in the remaking of Egypt. Youssef exerted a tangible effect on the national consciousness, helping to set the tone of public debate by determining what was appropriate, and, more importantly ‘inappropriate’ for discussion. That’s why private Egyptian Satellite channel CBC’s recent removal of Youssef from the air is so very worrying. Expert on Egyptian satire, Jonathon Guyer, explains that it was his first episode of “El Bernameg” that was just a little too bold. “In the first episode, Bassem Youssef delicatedly criticized the Egyptian military and the cult surrounding the chairman of the armed forces, Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil al-Sisi,” explains Guyer, “Bassem Youssef was eating cupcakes with al-Sisi’s face on them and making jokes about how many he should buy to prove his patriotism.” It was too much for CBC, which received complaints from viewers, and too much for the Government, which, in all likelihood, exerted the pressure on the channel to make the move. Popular as Youssef is,…
