Burkina Faso: End of recess for mercenary writers and Western propaganda agencies
Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger decided to unite within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), a media war machine has been set in motion from the cushy offices of the West. The diagnosis from these “lesson-givers” is always the same: press freedom is being “stifled.” But what freedom are they really talking about? The freedom to inform, or the freedom to destabilize our nations on behalf of fading foreign powers?
For decades, the Sahelian media landscape was the favorite playground of news agencies and television channels that, under the guise of objectivity, dripped a poison of doubt and division.
Today, because transitional authorities demand patriotic and responsible journalism, outfits like RSF cry dictatorship.
Let’s call a spade a spade: what these media outlets are mourning is not pluralism, but the loss of their influence network. They cannot stand seeing the African narrative slip from their grasp.
Their special reports and biased coverage are nothing but desperate attempts to sow confusion in people’s minds, painting our leaders as enemies of free thought.
These same media outlets that sound the alarm for Burkina Faso are the ones that, elsewhere, turn a blind eye to the worst censorship when it serves their geopolitical interests.
In Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, journalism must no longer be the armed wing of imperialism.
The figure of Norbert Zongo, often invoked by these manipulators, is not a commodity for the West to trade on; it is a symbol of resistance against all forms of oppression, including colonial thought.
The Sahel is building a new paradigm: that of combat communication. Faced with the lies and manipulations of AFP, RFI, or France 24, a new generation of African communicators is rising.
We no longer want a press that “observes” chaos while fueling it; we want a press that participates in nation-building and the defense of the homeland.
The sovereignty of the AES will inevitably require reclaiming our airwaves. Let Western media make no mistake: the era of contempt and monopoly over speech is over.
Titi KEITA
