Disinformation in Mali: the association of online press professionals calls for vigilance

Audio 00:58

An Air Force A400M transport plane on the tarmac of a Malian airport used by Operation Barkhane.

© RFI/Franck Alexandre

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

In a context of crisis in Mali, disinformation and fake news are invading social networks.

Since January 9, the date of the sanctions imposed on Bamako by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States), hate speech and slanderous videos have proliferated on the net.

In the crosshairs, ECOWAS and France, accused of being behind these sanctions.

The Association of Online Press Professionals calls for vigilance. 

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Professional journalists are also the target of this hype and victims of personal attacks, while they are only doing their job.

Faced with this misinformation campaign, the Association of Online Press Professionals (APPEL-Mali) calls for vigilance. “

There are phantom sites that are not known, which publish false information

, points out Modiba Fofana, president of Appel-Mali, joined by

Christina Okello

of the Africa editorial staff.

We have noticed that some journalists let themselves be trapped by taking up this false information. For example, there was a circular note on the Malian army, which spoke of reductions in the bonuses of the various units of the army. Really, this is fake news.

(Another) thing… There was a video according to which the Malian soldiers arrested French people.

We checked and realized that this is false information!

It's just to further fuel anti-French sentiment.

We have set up a verification center, fact-checking... we are about sixty, I asked all the online editors and directors of publication: if you doubt any information, please contact you at the center of the Association of Online Press Professionals.

And we must also contribute to appeasement.

Nobody has an interest today that the situation remains tense between Mali and the international community

”.

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To read also

: 

Disinformation fuels tensions between France and Mali

France-Mali on the networks, disinformation and false accusations

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