Egypt’s draft code for doctors in the media and on social platforms: what it proposes

On 1 October 2026, Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation received a draft code of conduct from the Medical Syndicate. It sets out how doctors should appear in the media and on social platforms. According to Ahram Online, the general assembly vote is due on 9 October 2026. The final text had not been adopted at the time of writing, so we treat it as a direction of travel whose details may still change.

The main points of the draft

According to Ahram Online, the draft asks doctors to:

• State their name, professional status and specialty clearly.
• Disclose any conflict of interest, such as a link to a company or a product they discuss.
• Avoid unverified outcomes and misleading claims.
• Refrain from promoting unrecognised medicines, diets or treatment regimens.
• Obtain explicit written consent before using patient data or images.
• Keep children out of medical ads.
• Refrain from using AI to create misleading or fabricated content.

Why now

The draft follows months of public debate about medical content online. In May 2026 the Supreme Council for Media Regulation banned the circulation of content by the late Dr Diaa El-Awady, at the request of the Ministry of Health and the Syndicate, after the ministry had revoked his licence over misleading medical information.

On 29 September 2026 the Syndicate also praised the Egyptian Drug Authority's monitoring of ads for unlicensed products on social platforms.

The existing law still applies

The proposed code sits on top of an existing framework. Law 206 of 2017 requires a licence for each health ad from a committee chaired by the Minister of Health, with a fee of EGP 10,000 per ad. Penalties include imprisonment of at least one month and/or a fine of EGP 50,000 to EGP 100,000.

In other words, a facility's paid advertising already has a known licensing route. The code focuses on how the doctor personally behaves in the media and on social platforms.

How your facility can prepare now

Most of the proposed points are good practice in any case, and applying them early means fewer changes later.

1. Review the bio on each of your doctors' accounts: full name, professional status and specialty as licensed.
2. Agree a standard disclosure line with your doctors for any content sponsored by a company or product, placed at the start of the post or video.
3. Keep signed, written consent for every patient image or story, stating where it will be published and for how long.
4. Review your current ads and posts, and remove any image or scene featuring a child from promotional content.
5. Set an internal rule for AI in content: it may help with wording and design, the doctor checks every medical statement before publishing, and generated images or voices that suggest real cases or results stay out.
6. Make sure every product or diet mentioned in your content is approved by the relevant authority.

How to check you are ready

A short list to review once the final text is out, and then monthly:

• The share of doctors' accounts with full name, status and specialty. The target is 100%.
• The share of published patient images and stories with stored written consent.
• Promotional posts featuring children. The target is zero.
• Sponsored posts carrying the agreed disclosure line, against all sponsored posts.

What we are watching after 9 October

After the vote we will look for the adopted text, how it will be applied and which body will receive complaints. We will update this article when the final text is published. Until then, this is a reading of a draft reported in the press; confirm the details with your lawyer or the Syndicate before acting.

If you would like to review your doctors' accounts and your facility's content against these points, the Naqar team can go through them with you.

Sources

• Ahram Online: media regulator receives draft code of conduct for doctors, 1 October 2026 (news report, no link)
• Egyptian Streets: Egypt bans circulation of content by deceased doctor Diaa El-Awady, 3 May 2026 (news report, no link)
• Parlmany: Law 206 of 2017 on advertising health products and services (news report, no link)
• Masrawy: Syndicate praises EDA monitoring of unlicensed product ads, 29 September 2026 (news report, no link)