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Amnesty: Morocco Bugged Phones, Apartments to 'Silence' Journalists

Is this proof of an intergovernmental surveillance network or a smear campaign against a rising power?
Amnesty: Morocco Bugged Phones, Apartments to 'Silence' Journalists
Above: The website for spyware firm NSO group displayed on a smartphone in Paris on July 21, 2021. Image credit: Joel Saget/Getty Images

The Spin


Government-critical narrative

This report is unsurprising given Morocco's years-long relationship with Pegasus, the Israeli government and other corrupt allies in the Middle East. Moroccan intelligence, through hidden private intermediaries in the UAE, has not only purchased NSO spyware, but met with employees personally to receive training on how to conduct illegal surveillance. Journalism is dead in Morocco and won't be revived until these nefarious networks are dismantled.

Pro-government narrative

One anonymous witness and recycled allegations do not add up to proof, and no court has ever validated these claims. Several European governments have bought the same spyware and some, such as France, have even built their own, yet somehow only Morocco gets a 126-page indictment and a wave of breathless coverage. That selectivity looks less like human rights work and more like a campaign against a rising power.


Metaculus Prediction


Go Deeper

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 7.4.1

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 7.4.1