Moroccan activist entangles Algerian security in arrest campaign due to a ‘trap’

Digital trap stirs controversy and debate

In a bizarre incident circulated on social media, a Moroccan activist claimed he had succeeded in deceiving Algerian security services, triggering a wide-scale arrest campaign that affected dozens of Algerian citizens. The story began when the activist published a list of phone numbers, falsely claiming they belonged to his secret sources inside Algeria, when they were actually numbers of individuals who regularly harassed him due to his political positions.

Behind the scenes of the ‘prank’ that became a public issue

The activist, Anas Lnbachi, explained in a video posted on his Facebook account that these numbers belonged to people who were pursuing him with messages and hostile calls. He decided to turn this “annoyance” into a means to expose what he described as the confusion within the security apparatus. The activist had previously published an image of the list of numbers, accompanied by a sarcastic comment describing them as “informants providing him with exclusive news against the regime,” which the Algerian authorities apparently took seriously.

Security implications and allegations of ‘espionage’

Available data, based on the activist’s accounts, indicates that Algerian security authorities treated the post as genuine intelligence, proceeding to arrest the individuals whose numbers were on the list on charges related to “spying for the Makhzen.” The activist supported his claim by posting an image of a news clip attributed to an Algerian international channel reporting on arrests for espionage, which raises serious questions about the accuracy of the intelligence mechanisms used by these services when dealing with online disinformation.

Reactions

This incident sparked a wave of sarcasm and astonishment among social media users, who considered that falling into the trap of a “Facebook post” reflects a level of security disarray. Meanwhile, observers see this incident as opening a debate on the dangers of rushing to accusations of treason and making arrests based on unverified digital data, which could harm the reputation of security institutions and make them vulnerable to such provocative practices.