Immediately after the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Palestinian resistance factions and the Israeli government, a coordinated campaign was launched under the hashtag "#مصر_عطاء_لا_ينقطع" (Egypt's Giving Never Stops), promoting Egypt’s role in humanitarian mediation and aid efforts. However, the campaign quickly shifted focus, turning into an attack on the opposition through the hashtag "#25_يناير_عيد_الشرطة_المصرية" (January 25—Egyptian Police Day).

This report breaks down the digital campaign by analyzing the network of accounts involved, showing how the hashtags were artificially boosted with the help of fake accounts.

Coordinated hashtag

After the ceasefire in Gaza, Egyptian state media focused on highlighting Egypt’s role in pressuring the Israeli government to accept the truce, leading international efforts to de-escalate the conflict, and securing humanitarian aid.

Following the same approach, the digital campaign under the hashtag "#مصر_عطاء_لا_ينقطع" (Egypt's Giving Never Stops) mainly promoted Egypt’s positive role in brokering the ceasefire agreement. However, deeper analysis suggests that engagement with the hashtag was not entirely organic.

To investigate this digital campaign on X platform, we first collected data from posts using the targeted hashtag. We then reviewed key account details, including creation dates, follower counts, and previous activity levels, to identify unusual interaction patterns. This initial review helped us understand the nature of the users spreading the content and detect any signs of artificial amplification or coordinated participation.

Next, we conducted a social network analysis (SNA) to map out the connections between the most active accounts in the campaign. This included measuring centrality to identify the most influential accounts driving engagement. Through this analysis, we detected clusters of accounts that frequently interacted with each other, suggesting organized activity.

Additionally, we analyzed the content, uncovering similarities in tweets and hashtags, and examined how multiple accounts reposted the same content within short time frames. This step allowed us to track the evolution of political messaging and identify different phases of narrative shaping.

Sudden surge

Time-based indicators revealed a sudden surge in posts under the hashtag "#مصر_عطاء_لا_ينقطع" (Egypt's Giving Never Stops) within a short period between January 19 and 23, 2025. The total number of posts exceeded 17,000, reaching an audience of over 97 million.

Notably, Saudi Arabia ranked second after Egypt among the countries posting the most content under the hashtag, with 788 posts.

The "Mostaqbal Watan News" accounts on X topped the list of news platform accounts most engaged with the hashtag. "Mostaqbal Watan News" serves as the media arm of the "Mostaqbal Watan" party, known for its support of the ruling government.

Retweets accounted for 45% of total posts under the hashtag, while original tweets made up only 12%—a key indicator of a coordinated online campaign.

The retweet numbers on the hashtag "#مصر_عطاء_لا_ينقطع" (Egypt's Giving Never Stops) suggest that its spread was not merely the result of spontaneous interaction, but rather a network of accounts played a key role in amplifying it significantly. Upon analyzing the nature of these accounts, we found that many exhibited unusual activity patterns, such as constant tweeting at a high frequency around the clock, or limiting their activity to sharing specific content without any personal interaction. Some of these accounts had a previous history of involvement in similar campaigns.

When analyzing the nature of the accounts interacting with the hashtag, it became evident that they lacked clear personal identifiers, such as profile pictures or personal information that would reveal the true identity of the users, except for the fact that they listed Egypt as their geographic location.

Notably, a group of accounts stood out for their intense and repetitive activity, such as aAa56547979, Ward7890, and rushyt1. These accounts played a central role in amplifying content related to the digital campaign through reposting.

The latter account was particularly active despite lacking any personal information to reveal its owner’s identity. However, it hinted at its role in its bio by using the hashtag "#عصابة_الريتويت_للفولورز" (Retweet Gang for Followers), which is commonly associated with accounts engaging in similar digital activities.

In terms of the content posted under the hashtag, we observed that messaging was on two stages. First, the campaign highlighted Egypt’s positive role in Gaza and its humanitarian aid efforts. Later, as January 25 approached, the focus shifted to criticizing the Egyptian opposition.

Ideologically Driven Accounts

The accounts @BAHAA0003823628 and @BASSEMELMASSRY were the key drivers of the campaign, which began on January 20, 2025. The first posts using the hashtag appeared at 08:35 AM UTC. Notably, @BASSEMELMASSRY was among the earliest users of the hashtag, posting its first tweet at 09:21 AM.

By combining timestamp data with network analysis, it appears that the hashtag did not experience a sudden spike in activity at the start. Instead, it spread gradually until the central accounts mentioned earlier became actively involved, and amplified the digital m momentum. A timeline analysis revealed that engagement began rising a few hours after the campaign started. Key accounts played a significant role in pushing the campaign to a broader audience, driving the hashtag’s reach to an unusually high level.

Analysis of interaction data showed that the campaign garnered a total of 7,062 retweets. Interestingly, the accounts @BAHAA0003823628 and @BASSEMELMASSRY alone accounted for 44.5% of these retweets, indicating their key role in amplifying the campaign.

However, network analysis revealed that the campaign’s reach was not solely dependent on these two accounts. A group of central accounts also played a crucial role in spreading the content further, acting as intermediaries to boost engagement and expand the campaign’s reach.

Accounts like @Aa56547979, @Ward789000, and @rushyt1 emerged as major influencers within the network. Data analysis showed that these accounts were instrumental in recycling the content, not only interacting with the hashtag but also serving as bridges between different user groups. This helped distribute the posts more widely and sustain their circulation.

Nonstop Propaganda

Analysis of the hashtag #مصر_عطاء_لا_ينقطع (Egypt's Giving Never Stops) suggests it later became linked to #25_ يناير_عيد_الشرطة_المصرية (January 25—Egyptian Police Day). Data extracted from the Meltwater indicates an unusual spike in posts using these hashtags on X. On January 21, the number of posts surged to 48, compared to zero daily in the preceding period. Further analysis of engagement sources reveals that activity on the platform increased by 959 times the usual rate, reflecting a sudden and coordinated digital push for the hashtag #25_يناير_عيد_الشرطة_المصرية (January 25—Egyptian Police Day).

Sentiment analysis revealed that 92% of the posts under the hashtag were positive, reflecting a deliberate digital effort to frame the revolution’s anniversary as a celebration of the Egyptian police.

Regarding geographic distribution, data showed that 23 posts originated from within Egypt—505 times the daily average—indicating a concentrated local effort driving the campaign.

The Maestro Again

As outlined earlier, digital data analysis revealed that the account "El Maestro" (@BASSEMELMASSRY) played a key role in launching and driving engagement around the hashtag #مصر_عطاء_لا_ينقطع (Egypt's Giving Never Stops) from the very beginning of the campaign. It was among the first to use the hashtag, and by January 21, 2025, its activity gradually shifted toward the hashtag "#٢٥_يناير_عيد_الشرطة_المصرية (January 25—Egyptian Police Day).

This account holds significant influence, boasting 98,502 followers. However, its engagement patterns suggest unnatural activity, as most of its posts do not receive organic interactions from genuine followers. Instead, they are amplified through repetitive retweets from affiliated accounts.

Additionally, data showed an unusual spike in mentions of the account on X, jumping to 48 mentions on January 21 compared to zero in previous days. Notably, 23 of these mentions originated from within Egypt—an increase of 505 times the normal rate.

The tweeting pattern of this account, along with its ties to other accounts promoting the same narrative, highlights its role as a key orchestrator within the coordinated digital propaganda network.

The posts by "El Maestro" are characterized by exaggerated praise of the state's achievements while demonizing opponents through language that contains threats and instigates instability.