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something that isn’t there, they say, ahhh.” And that was before
YouTube, Google, and WikiLeaks.
Indeed, an exclusive Newsweek–Daily Beast poll of 1,000 Egyptians
reveals that, with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaching, a
majority (53 percent) don’t believe that al Qaeda was responsible for
the Twin Tower attacks, instead affixing blame to Israel, the U.S.
government or an unknown entity. This kind of dangerous
misinformation carries into even the most recent current events. In
the same survey, 62 percent either don’t believe the U.S. killed
Osama bin Laden, or they aren’t sure.
Even among the friendliest audience that could be assembled—a
class at an American-run English-language school—skepticism
reigns, and a random YouTube video carries as much weight as a
New York Times front-page story.
“We haven’t seen any proof that he’s actually dead—or even
existed,” says 17-year-old Manal Maatiri.
“We need to see it to trust it,” Houda Biyad, a 28-year-old medical
assistant, chimes in.
“We need evidence,” adds 17-year-old Buhary El-Quasamy. When I
point out that both Obama and al Qaeda agree on the basic facts that
the U.S. killed bin Laden, she shrugs. “Well, I can say anything I
want, too.”
Such are the responses when the region’s leaders—and the press they
controlled—have systematically lied to their citizens for 30 years,
ingraining a distrust in what leaders or the media says that borders on
absolute.
But perhaps there’s also a dividend from such cynicism. Every survey
shows widespread Arab antipathy for American policy—the
Newsweek–Daily Beast poll found that only 11 percent of Egyptians
think America cares about their interests. But when you pull back the
layers, cutting through the decades of institutional demagoguery, the

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