The issue of publication ban orders in Egypt, more commonly known as “gag orders”, has risen to public attention in recent years in Egypt. This attention has reflected in many reports emerging with rich data on the frequency and significance of publication ban orders. This thesis takes advantage of this recent availability of data to broach this topic on which there has been limited past academic research, particularly in Egypt. Such orders have barred the media from covering lawsuits that were mostly of a high public-opinion value, usually involving high and mid-ranking officials of government, security or judicial personnel. This qualitative thesis explores how these orders unfold in reality, and to what degree they affect journalist activity and news dissemination in Egypt. The findings of this study reveal a number of issues of direct practical impact on journalists’ activity, including legal dilemmas, an information blackout following such an order, and an increased sense of a limited media sphere. With regards to news disseminations, trends discussing the role of rumors and digital media in spreading news about a banned topic have also been detected
