Jon Stewart Bassem Youssef Split - H 2013
Getty ImagesThe U.S. Embassy in Cairo deleted its Twitter account after drawing complaints for tweeting a link to video of Daily Show host Jon Stewart‘s exasperated defense of Bassem Youssef, a satirist dubbed “The Egyptian Jon Stewart” who was arrested for mocking President Mohamed Morsi.
The tweet sparked irate responses from the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the official account of the Egyptian Presidency, which replied: “It’s inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda.”
The Muslim Brotherhood tweeted: “Another undiplomatic & unwise move by @USEmbassyCairo, taking sides in an ongoing investigation & disregarding Egyptian law & culture.”
VIDEO: Jon Stewart Backs Bassem Youssef
In response to the criticism, the embassy yanked down its account on Wednesday at the request of Cairo-based American ambassador Anne Patterson, The New York Times reported. Her decision raised eyebrows in Washington with the State Department urging Patterson to restore the account “lest it appear that the U.S. government is caving to the online pressure.”
When the feed resurfaced, the tweet that seemingly endorsed Stewart’s Youssef rant had been removed. During a press briefing on Wednesday, State Department representative Victoria Nuland said: “Embassy Cairo’s Twitter feed is back up now. We’ve had some glitches with the way the Twitter feed has been managed. This is regrettably not the first time.”
