INSIGHTS: How disinformation on social media is fuelling Niger crisis

THE CABLE

After the military junta in Niger Republic forcefully took over the reins of power, the internet was awash with several fictional and misleading reports about happenings in the Francophone country. 

In late July, Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s democratically elected president, was ousted in a military coup. Abdourahamane Tiani, a general, was later declared as the country’s new head of state.

During a state broadcast, the general appeared on television with a banner describing him as the president of the National Council for Safeguarding the Homeland (CNSP), a newly formed military council.

Tiani was the head of the presidential guard that held Bazoum hostage in the presidential palace due to “bad governance and worsening security”. According to Tiani, the military coup was necessary to avoid “the gradual and inevitable demise” of the country. He said although Bazoum had sought to convince people that “all is going well”, the reality of the matter “is a pile of dead, displaced, humiliation and frustration”.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a political and economic union of countries located in the region, in an attempt to reinstate the ousted democratically elected president, threatened to intervene militarily. In response, Tchiani declared he would not accept any foreign interference.

The initial period of political uncertainty led to an influx of disinformation on social media.

VIDEO FOOTAGE OF WAGNER TROOPS ARRIVING IN NIGER IS OLD, MISLEADING

 The Wagner Group, a private military company with its origin in Russia, operates in a somewhat complex legal landscape. While mercenary forces are generally illegal in Russia, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the late leader of the group, claimed to have established Wagner in 2014. However, the group was officially registered as a private military company in 2022.

The Group has been involved in various conflicts and military operations in different parts of the world, including, Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic, Sudan and Libya, – often with ties to Russian interests. 

A few days after the military took over in Niger, a circulating video shared on X, (formerly known as Twitter), claimed that a Russian military plane landed in Niamey, Niger’s capital.

 “It’s been said that Wagner forces have already begun to enter the city,” the post added.