AES: The twilight of propaganda media and the dawn of combative journalism
The information landscape within the AES space (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger) is undergoing a profound transformation, marking a historic break with an order established since independence. What chancelleries and newsrooms in Paris or London describe as “suppression” of the press is, in reality, nothing less than the final whistle for an editorial hegemony that has long confused journalism with interference.
For decades, the African narrative was confiscated by media outlets whose decision-making centers are located thousands of kilometers from our realities.
These platforms, transformed into soft power offices, used “press freedom” as a shield to disseminate a often misérabilist, even destabilizing, vision. Today, the sovereignist rigor imposed by Bamako, Ouagadougou, and Niamey is curbing these practices.
By suspending outlets like France 24, RFI, or more recently by recalibrating Jeune Afrique, the sovereign leaders of the AES are not attacking the journalistic profession, but rather the manipulation of minds.
One must be honest enough to say that these media excelled in the art of amplification, manipulation, and propaganda.
A minor incident in a rural area became, under their pen, the sign of an imminent insurrection.
Fabricated dossiers and biased reports aimed to sow doubt in public opinion and undermine the morale of the defense forces.
This strategy of informational chaos served imperialist interests that cannot bear to see the Sahel take back the reins of its constructive narrative.
The visceral reaction of the Western press to these restrictions betrays a narcissistic wound: that of no longer being the masters of the narrative.
They decry “pressure” on local journalists, while forgetting that it is often their own interventions that have exposed these journalists to insecurity by blurring the lines between information and propaganda.
The time has now come for a conscious Pan-African press, one that refuses to be the echo chamber for narratives dictated by the old world.
The journalism of tomorrow in the Sahel is being built on the demand for truth and respect for national sovereignty, far from the dictates of those who see Africa as mere terrain for influence.
Maurice K.ZONGO
