Instead of ensuring security and responding to citizens’ aspirations, military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger are investing hundreds of millions of CFA francs to silence critical speech… on Facebook. A new war has begun: a war against free expression, waged through mass reporting, fake links, and organized cyberbullying.
When censorship goes digital
For several months, reports have been multiplying: dissident voices, activists, and journalists critical of military regimes are being silenced. Not through arrests or bans on protesting—although these also exist—but through a far more insidious digital strategy: the coordinated attack on Facebook accounts.
In Mali, journalist and influential civil society member Mohamed AG Ahmedou had his account suspended for a week, as did Azawadian activist Rhissa Ag for a month. Their posts clearly disturbed the military authorities. Their only offense: expressing a different opinion.
In Burkina Faso, the accounts of Maixent Somé and Newton Ahmed Barry, a journalist and former president of the CENI, were temporarily blocked. The same scenario occurred in Niger, where activists Hamid Ngade and Safia Amoumoune, as well as that of Abdou PAGOUI, were suspended.
An organized, funded, and toxic system
Behind these suspensions lies a well-structured network, financed and controlled by the regimes in power or their proxies. These “cyber-activists,” often paid, operate according to several modes of operation:
Mass reporting: Dozens, sometimes hundreds of accounts are mobilized to report content or a profile. Facebook, whose algorithms cannot always distinguish between legitimate reporting and manipulation, acts mechanically.
Targeted phishing: By posing as “Meta Support,” these agents send fake messages to trick opponents and obtain their credentials. Once hacked, the account is often used for other purposes or disabled.
Coordinated disinformation: At the same time, these same networks disseminate false information to discredit opponents, maintaining a climate of confusion and fear.
A shameful waste of public resources
The vexing question: how much do these censorship campaigns cost? Between funding cyber-activists, purchasing automated reporting services, and mobilizing agents dedicated to these tasks, potentially hundreds of millions of CFA francs are being diverted to the detriment of real national priorities: education, health, and, above all, security, which remains precarious in large parts of these countries.
Freedom of expression under threat
The use of Facebook—a tool meant to connect people—as an instrument of censorship is cause for concern. Because if a government cannot tolerate criticism on a social network, what does that say about its true legitimacy? Faced with this situation, platforms like Meta must also assume their share of responsibility. Algorithms are no longer enough. Reports must be handled in a contextual and humane manner, especially in conflict zones or under authoritarian regimes.
The fear of listening to others
Silencing dissenting voices has never been a sign of strength. On the contrary, it’s a symptom of a fragile power, worried about what its people might think, say, or dream. In the digital age, censorship is no longer just a matter of banning broadcasts or muzzling traditional media. It also plays out on screens, behind profiles, in the silences imposed by arbitrary suspensions.
And yet, what citizens are demanding is not digital campaigns of repression. They are demanding security, justice, transparency. And above all: the right to speak freely.
Mohamed Ag Ahmedou – Mehari Consulting
06-07-25