Featured | Feb 01,2020
Aug 31 , 2019
By Adewunmi Emoruwa
While social media platforms offer speed and accessibility, a credible free press remains vital to support accountability in places where it is often hard to find, writes Adewunmi Emoruwa, an investor in African media startups and lead strategist at Gatefield, a public strategy group. This article first appeared on Project Syndicate.
In June, Senegalese President Macky Sall’s brother, Aliou Sall, resigned from his post as the head of a state-run savings fund, following public outrage over allegations (which he denies) that he was involved in corrupt oil and gas deals. That outrage was expressed via social media and on the streets of Dakar. But it was investigative journalism, carried out by the BBC, that triggered it, highlighting traditional media’s enduring power to effect change.
While social media platforms get a lot of attention for their speed and accessibility, a credible free press – which does not simply parrot the official line of governments or special interests, but rather seeks the truth – remains essential to strengthening accountability in places where it can often be hard to find. And independent investigative journalists in Africa have often exposed high-level corruption, abuse of power and shady business deals.
For example, in Kenya, a leading local newspaper reported that Philip Kinisu, former chairman of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, had received suspicious payments from the National Youth Service (NYS). Further investigations into the NYS revealed more corrupt deals, spurring Kenyans to take to the streets in protest.
But those with power know how to fight back – and they do not pull their punches. As a result, in many African countries, the free press is being compromised, suppressed and even dismantled.
The most extreme example of media suppression in Africa is found in Eritrea, where Reporters Without Borders estimates that at least 11 journalists are languishing in prison. The country has only one independent and non-partisan news outlet - a radio station run by exiled journalists based in Paris - and its signal is often jammed.
But attacks on African news media’s already-tenuous freedom are proliferating. They often come in the form of violence against independent journalists. Last year, two journalists in Nigeria were assaulted by security operatives attached to the President. In January, an undercover journalist in Ghana was fatally shot, after a politician called for retribution against him for publishing an exposé on corruption in the country’s football (soccer) leagues.
Governments also attempt to assert control over media outlets, even if it means shutting them down. In Tanzania, President John Magufuli’s government has suspended newspapers and banned radio stations critical of his administration, using pretexts such as “sedition” and “national security threats.” News organizations have been pressured – in at least one case, by armed men – to publish stories favorable to the ruling elite.
Independent media are squeezed further by chronic underfunding. Journalists not only lack resources to support their work; they are often so poorly compensated that they become vulnerable to corruption themselves. In Nigeria, “brown envelope journalism” – when reporters are paid by individuals or organisations to publish favourable stories – is commonplace.
Where independent media are silenced, coerced or captured, the public has few options for gaining any information beyond the narratives pushed by governments and special interests. Social media platforms can play a role, but their main strength - their democratic nature - is also their fatal flaw. They have proved ideal for spreading fake news, which taints public debate and erodes trust in both facts and institutions.
This dynamic was on stark display during Nigeria’s last election campaign. Fake news stories – including the claim that President Muhammadu Buhari had died and been replaced by a lookalike – went viral on social media. Millions of Nigerians were convinced, with some even carrying out killings in retaliation for made-up violence. Recognizing the power of these stories, figures close to political parties began to invent and circulate claims that would benefit their candidates, severely distorting the election campaign.
Independent traditional news outlets do not just avoid this problem; they are the key to addressing it, because only they can credibly verify the news being circulated on social media. That is why Facebook and Google have collaborated with traditional media organisations to combat the spread of fake news on their platforms in Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
But if traditional independent media are going to fulfil their essential role, they need resources. In places where governments are placing constraints on press freedom, Western donors should step up to provide the necessary funding. Given the importance of a credible free press to both development and democracy, it is undoubtedly a sound investment.
PUBLISHED ON
Aug 31,2019 [ VOL
20 , NO
1009]
Featured | Feb 01,2020
Commentaries | Dec 28,2019
Commentaries | Jun 25,2022
Radar | Oct 07,2023
Editorial | Feb 06,2021
Viewpoints | Apr 30,2021
Sponsored Contents | Mar 28,2022
My Opinion | Oct 14,2023
Advertorials | Oct 10,2019
Radar | Aug 13,2022
Photo Gallery | 96745 Views | May 06,2019
Photo Gallery | 88928 Views | Apr 26,2019
My Opinion | 67168 Views | Aug 14,2021
Commentaries | 65761 Views | Oct 02,2021
Feb 24 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
Abel Yeshitila, a real estate developer with a 12-year track record, finds himself unable to sell homes in his latest venture. Despite slash...
Feb 10 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
In his last week's address to Parliament, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) painted a picture of an economy...
Jan 7 , 2024
In the realm of international finance and diplomacy, few cities hold the distinction that Addis Abeba doe...
Sep 30 , 2023 . By AKSAH ITALO
On a chilly morning outside Ke'Geberew Market, Yeshi Chane, a 35-year-old mother cradling her seven-month-old baby, stands amidst the throng...
Apr 20 , 2024
In a departure from its traditionally opaque practices, the National Bank of Ethiopia...
Apr 13 , 2024
In the hushed corridors of the legislative house on Lorenzo Te'azaz Road (Arat Kilo)...
Apr 6 , 2024
In a rather unsettling turn of events, the state-owned Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (C...
Mar 30 , 2024
Ethiopian authorities find themselves at a crossroads in the shadow of a global econo...
Apr 20 , 2024
Ethiopia's economic reform negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are in their fourth round, taking place in Washington, D...
Apr 20 , 2024 . By BERSABEH GEBRE
An undercurrent of controversy surrounds the appointment of founding members of Amhara Bank after regulat...
An ambitious cooperative housing initiative designed to provide thousands with affordable homes is mired...
Apr 20 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Ethiopia's juice manufacturers confront formidable economic challenges following the reclassification of...