The Propagation of Online Rumours Slandering Multinational Companies in Egypt

International audience The digital communication boom in Egypt presents higher unpredictability to multinational companies operating in different countries. This gives unprecedented ground to rumours on all levels, economic, social and political, with the rise of Web 2.0. It is essential for research to keep pace with these changes, where social media has changed the game and Internet users are no longer passive players, but they can actively create and spread rumours. This chapter presents a new approach by analysing three concrete case studies of commercial rumours on Facebook in Egypt. The cases belong to different business sectors such as telecommunications, dairy products and FMCG. The data is collected using multiple tools together with online observation (netnography) and some semi-directive interviews with key players involved in the dissemination process. This chapter argues how socio-cultural differences and filters in Egypt affect rumour dissemination. The analysis involves the anatomy of initiators and type of interactions on Facebook until the debunking process. The results obtained in this chapter, and the main techniques used, can naturally extend to other countries and to another type of similar digital platform.