Timbuktu Institute - January 2025

As Dr. Bakary Sambe, Regional Director of the Timbuktu Institute,often reminds us, “since misinformation is a structural problem, it logically requires equally structural responses that take into account local specificities to avoid cultural bias in the development of solutions”. So, while it's important to combat misinformation in its current manifestations, it's also essential to find solutions to the root causes of the scourge. As part of its efforts to promote local solutions and approaches to combating misinformation, the Timbuktu Institute - African Center for Peace Studies continues to give a voice to local players and civil society organizations, with the aim of encouraging the emergence of local, endogenous initiatives to combat this phenomenon. This week, the Timbuktu Institute - African Center for Peace Studies spoke to journalist and founding member of the Chad Bloggers Association, Emmanuel Deuh'b, who believes that media education must be integrated as a priority from the earliest stages of the school curriculum.

What are the main vectors of misinformation in Chad, particularly in the context of the security crisis?

In 2019, around 5% of Chadians were connected to social networks. Today in 2024, this rate has increased significantly because, among other things, the price of the internet connection has dropped considerably. And when the number of Internet users increases, it goes without saying that the abuses associated with Internet use are also likely to increase. In recent years, there's been a lot of information clutter. When we talk about misinformation, we're talking about disinformation proper, i.e. information manipulated to mislead people. There's also misinformation, which has the same purpose, but refers more to when information is based on fact, but is deliberately exaggerated by its disseminator. Then there's misinformation, which this time consists of sharing false information, but without knowing it, i.e. without necessarily intending to deceive. This latter form is the most prevalent in Chad, because most people who share false information do so unknowingly, since the general public is not very familiar with the subject of misinformation. Having said that, there aren't many people who intentionally fabricate false information, because we're still an embryonic country in digital terms. On the other hand, until recently, Chad was the only country in the Sahel with a particularly strong French military presence. Over the past few years, this situation has created an information war between France and Russia, resulting in the circulation of a considerable amount of false information.

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

I think they play a lesser role. The reality is that there aren't many players involved in the fight against misinformation in Chad - I may be one of the pioneers. However, organizations like the digital hub Wenaklabs have put strategies in place to combat misinformation. Apart from that, few entities exist in this area. It has to be said that local authorities are not really involved in the fight against misinformation. There's ANCISE (Agence Nationale de Sécurité Informatique et de la Certification Électronique), a kind of digital police force that exists with laws and texts, but their applicability remains unclear, not to mention the fact that it doesn't really invest in campaigns to combat disinformation. That's why I'm personally trying to approach certain officials and authorities, with the aim of convincing them of the need to take action as state regulators in this fight. As it happens, however, they don't have the resources to implement their policies, which makes it difficult to put these ideas into practice. As far as I'm concerned, since there's a real lack of resources, I'm in the process of setting up a structure that will make it easier to understand the issues surrounding disinformation.

How does misinformation impact on security crisis management and social cohesion, particularly in vulnerable areas?

An example from two years ago, during the events of October 20, 2022, when anti-government demonstrations were harshly repressed, is particularly telling. During this period, there was a lot of false information circulating about the fact that in Chad, there is an old feud between the Muslim-majority North and the Christian-majority South, which has its roots in the Chadian civil war (1965-1979). In the process, ill-intentioned people took advantage of the troubled situation to rekindle the flame of war, claiming that people in the South were massacring Muslims, when in fact these were images from the Central African Republic. During this period, with the Chad bloggers' association, we were in the middle of a training session, which was a godsend for quickly re-establishing the truth. Similarly, during the previous presidential election, a lot of fake news circulated, but we tried to mitigate its impact in real time.

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

The first step is to focus on media education, starting in primary school. A lot of training is given to young people and students, but we tend to forget about teachers. Teachers are essential, as they are in direct daily contact with pupils. This all-encompassing approach will help raise awareness and combat the problem at grassroots level. In addition, we need to make the authorities aware of the importance of combating misinformation, which is a global phenomenon with harmful consequences for democracy. As the primary actors in democratic health, governments should be taking this fight seriously, but unfortunately they are not. What's needed, therefore, is effective awareness-raising among the relevant authorities, so that they invest, finance and take up the fight against disinformation head-on. Finally, journalists also need media education. In 2024, I trained hundreds of journalists on misinformation, but I don't think that's enough, because they still need effective and appropriate tools.

Interview by Kensio Akpo, Media Team, Strategic Watch, Timbuktu Institute