The Egyptian host and humorist Bassem Youssef recently faced a suspension of his main account on the X platform (formerly Twitter), with 11.7 million subscribers. This action would be due to tweets criticizing the Israeli occupation. In response, Youssef challenged this censorship using an old account, which quickly gained popularity, reaching around 55,000 subscribers.
Faced with this situation, Youssef announced the launch of a new social media platform called “Reboota” (http://reboota.com). He said on X: “I’m going to devote myself to building a better electronic media over the next three years. Do you support this initiative? »The official launch of the final version is scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
Youssef also shared the poignant image of a Palestinian father who lost his children in the war in Gaza, stressing that “the loss of 12 million subscribers cannot compare to the loss of this man who lost his two children and his wife in an Israeli strike only three days after their birth. »»
The popularity of Youssef increased considerably following its positions on the conflict in Gaza, especially after its participation in the program of the British journalist Piers Morgan at the end of 2023, where his attacks on Israel aroused a large echo.
In a broader context, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that the Israeli military offensive caused the death of at least 40,173 Palestinians and injured 92,857 others since October 7.
The launch of Reboota by Bassem Youssef thus marks a new step in the development of social media in the Arab world, promising a platform focused on freedom of expression and the sharing of information, particularly in a tense geopolitical context.
