The Journalists' Syndicate in Egypt issued a decision on Thursday to prevent blogger Amr Bella from entering its premises as a guest, due to his use of the syndicate for promotional advertising, after he broadcasted a video comparing koshari dishes bought from three famous restaurants. The blogger, who specializes in restaurant reviews, praised one of the dishes in the video, expressed his admiration for the second, and criticized the last, which triggered a wave of anger for using the Journalists' Syndicate in advertising.
The secretary of the Journalists' Syndicate, Gamal Abdel Rahim, revealed the circumstances of the incident committed by the famous blogger inside the syndicate's premises, stating in a statement to Masrawy: "The decision to ban the blogger from entering the Journalists' Syndicate came after he published the mentioned video on his Facebook page."
He added that "the blogger is not a member of the Journalists' Syndicate and has no affiliation with the syndicate; his repeated entries into the premises were as a guest alongside three syndicate members." Abdel Rahim noted that "the three friends of the syndicate members associated with Amr Bella have been referred for investigation by the syndicate council, and legal actions are currently being taken against them."
