Planning Minister Ashraf al-Araby denied on Sunday rumors spread by media channels and social media, saying he had said Egyptians were among the happiest in the world, urging them to stick to accuracy when reporting.
“Some have been intending to distort my remarks. For example the false remarks circulated by social media platforms attributed to me saying that Egyptians are one of the happiest peoples in the world,” he said in remarks on Sunday.
He added that his original remarks were made during a recent show on state-run TV that Egyptians were of the happiest peoples in the world at the time of the economic summit that was held in March in Sharm El-Sheikh.
A recent report by the World Happiness Report commissioned by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network said that most Egyptians lead unhappy lives and that Egypt had the greatest decline in happiness levels compared to previous years, ranking 135th place among 158 countries between 2012 and 2014.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
