Timbuktu Institute - January 2025

As part of its efforts to promote local solutions and approaches to combating misinformation, the Timbuktu Institute - African Center for Peace Studies gives a voice to local players and civil society organizations, with the aim of encouraging the emergence of local, endogenous initiatives to combat this phenomenon. With this in mind, Kensio Akpo, from the Institute's monitoring unit, spoke with journalist Amadou Sy, also director of the “Media and Democracy” platform, who stresses the importance of educating the Mauritanian and wider Sahelian public to better “consume information”. Mauritania is no exception to the global reality of social networks, as the main vector of disinformation. According to Amadou Sy, journalist and country director of the “Media & Democracy” platform, there are two main areas of focus for solutions. On the one hand, to educate the public, who are the first receivers of information, and on the other, to strengthen the capacities of journalists in the fight against disinformation, he recommends.

What are the main vectors of misinformation in Mauritania?

The vectors are of various kinds. They can range from videos or audios taken out of context, sometimes with altered voices, to misinformation comments affixed to videos. For example, a few months ago, we saw a wave of videos on TikTok claiming that Malian forces were attacking Mauritanians at the border, with pseudo-images to back them up. Except that this was not really the case, but rather coordinated combing operations with the Mauritanian army in the east of the country. The main channels for disinformation are therefore social networks, given their popularity. That said, the TikTok social network is becoming an increasingly important vector, due to the viral nature of the videos circulating there. Then, of course, there's Facebook, which has always been a platform where misinformation is particularly prevalent. Finally, the private messaging service WhatsApp is widely used, with groups where most of the people who meet there have no media or information education. They avidly consume information of all kinds, often taking at face value everything they hear in these groups.

What role do local media, community leaders and state authorities play in combating misinformation?

There are several different things being done, or at least tried. First of all, misinformation can come from anywhere, and sometimes even from these authorities and community leaders and media, i.e. the same people who are supposed to be fighting misinformation can be sources of misinformation. This is an important point to note. In any case, at media level, training is provided for journalists, so that they don't become primary sources of misinformation. Then there's the fact-checking work being done, albeit timidly, to verify information already present in the public arena, using increasingly well-known tools. As far as community leaders are concerned, it's mainly a question of awareness-raising campaigns, for which they try to be the bearers. Traditional chancelleries are often mobilized, especially in the run-up to important events such as elections.

How does misinformation affect the country's socio-political management and social cohesion, particularly in vulnerable areas?

In terms of social cohesion, it's clear that misinformation certainly plays a disruptive role. However, it is not easy to answer this question in a factual manner, as there is little factual data on which to base this question. What we can say, however, is that there are laws to punish and repress the dissemination of false information and violations of privacy, as well as laws on discrimination and cybersecurity. In short, a legal arsenal exists at this level, which is backed up by awareness-raising actions and campaigns.

What local solutions could be put in place to effectively combat misinformation?

The first thing, which seems trivial but is important, is that we clearly need more verified information and less misinformation. So, first of all, journalists need to be equipped so that they themselves are not misinformers, so that they can stand up to the agents of misinformation with consistent legitimacy. There are already two levels of action here. Secondly, it is vital to educate the consumers of information: the public. In this respect, capacity-building for journalists, in the sense of setting up teams and making resources available, is crucial to the task in hand. Support mechanisms need to be put in place to provide journalists and media with the resources they need to work with peace of mind. In addition, we need to invest in raising awareness among young people in schools, building programs for them so that they know how to behave when confronted with news. This is vital at a time when we are besieged by an immense quantity of data, which I sometimes find hard to even call information.

Interview by Kensio Akpo, Watch Unit - Timbuktu Institute