Egypt’s first female captain targeted by trolls after Suez accident
Fake newsmakers have trolled Egypt’s first female captain following the grounding of the ULCS Ever Given in the Suez Canal.
Anti-feminist internet trolls have used faked news headlines to target Egypt’s first female captain, reports Trade Winds. The headlines were created shortly after the Suez Canal was blocked by the huge container vessel, Ever Given.
Purporting to be from the regional English-language publication Arab News, the trolls tried to connect Captain Marwa Elselehdar with the grounding of the Shoei Kisen-owned ULCS.
They stole her image from Instagram and then attempted to associate her with the accident by spreading the social-media generated headline: “Cargo ship crashes into Suez Canal. First female Arab Lloyd captain involved in incident”.
The headline is false in at least four aspects and there was never any such story published by Arab News. Instead, the news outlet ran a story on her being in charge of the Aida IV on the day of the opening ceremony for the expanded Suez Canal in 2015.
Elselehdar has not yet responded to a request for comment through her Instagram account, but in recent press interviews she said she was allowed to enrol for training at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport only after its president reviewed law determining whether women were eligible for admission.
