Criticism During The 2011 Egyptian Revolution
During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, Vodafone was heavily criticized by the Egyptian public for switching off services when protests against former president Hosni Mubarak began. But the Egyptian authorities then ordered Vodafone to switch the network back on, in order to send unsolicited text messages under Egypt's, then enacted, emergency laws.
In response to the criticisms regarding those text messages, Vodafone announced that the Egyptian government forced all telecom operators to send pro-Hosni Mubarak text messages to its customers in that country. But even though the company says it "protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable"
Vodafone also faced a backlash in Egypt over an advert suggesting it helped inspire this year's revolution in the country. The three-minute commercial featured excerpts from a precious Vodafone ad campaign entitled “Our Power”. The video goes on to show images from protest rallies in Cairo's Tahrir Square before claiming: "We didn't send people to the streets, we didn't start the 2011 Egyptian revolution … We only reminded Egyptians how powerful they are." Vodafone has strongly disassociated itself from the commercial, which was produced by the international marketing firm JWT. "The company does not have any connection to this video and had no prior knowledge of its production or posting on the internet," said Hatem Dowidar.
Read more about this topic: Vodafone Egypt
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