State security prosecution to interrogate Vodafone about advert

Officials from the telecom company Vodafone are due to appear before state security prosecution on Wednesday after a complaint was filed with public prosecution accusing the company of using secret codes in its most recent online commercial that purportedly sends out messages of terrorism on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.

After receiving a complaint from the activist known as Ahmed Spider, the prosecutor general referred the case to the state security prosecution to investigate the commercial. In its statement, the prosecutor general said that the commercial used codes and expressions that are unconventional in adverts.

The advert, which was posted on the telecom company’s YouTube channel last Friday, features Abla Fahita and her daughter Karkoura, two dolls introduced to the web in recent years.

Abla Fahita is a widow who, in most of the videos, talks about her late husband and occupies her time by gossiping on the phone with her friends, and discussing recipes and her next visit to the tailor.

Fahita is known for using words that are outdated and sometimes difficult to understand, often talking in circles and making little sense. This arguably made it easy for Spider to read into her lines in the new commercial.

The new advert features Fahita talking on the phone while her daughter Karkoura looks for Fahita’s late husband’s old phone line — the advert publicizes a new offer on old numbers that have not been used for a long period.

Spider became known in 2011 when he started accusing revolutionary activists of belonging to the Masonic movement. He has become famous for making such accusations and filing lawsuits, often based on an interpretation of small signs that he sees in their clothes and speech.

Appearing on a television show on Tahrir channel on Tuesday after the prosecution referred the case for investigation, Spider dissects the ad, deducing terrorist plots in almost every word and shot of the humorous commercial.

First, Spider says that the opening scene, which shows a cactus plant with Christmas decorations, is an implicit threat.