The New Government in Somalia Faces a Coordinated and Vicious Campaign of Disinformation

By its very definition disinformation is a weapon of war. It is designed to destabilize and weaken an enemy. In earlier times, it was dominated by states and depended on expensive, secretive, and jealously guarded human intelligence and security operatives and technological gadgets. Coupled with a great deal of discipline, care, and discretion.

However, the latest communication and technological innovations and their widespread accessibility have made disinformation a weapon of choice not only for states but also for all kinds of non-state entities, including organized criminal networks, kleptocratic cartels, extremist fringe groups, cults, cabals, and opportunistic peddlers of deceitful propaganda and hate. 

Disinformation has become a cheap, easily accessible, and insidious weapon, the potential targets, reach and destructive impacts of which have been dramatically and exponentially increased. It can be launched from any where any time by anyone with internet and a smart phone. It can, indeed did, destabilize big and powerful democracies. It can savagely gut, even ruin fragile nations.

Instances of disinformation have dramatically increased after the recently held Presidential election in Somalia. There appears to be a coordinated and sustained disinformation campaign aimed at distracting, intimidating, blindsiding or destabilizing the newly elected government, which has been in office for less than a month. In fact, the official inauguration of the new President, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, happened just yesterday in Mogadishu.

Even by the standards of fragile states, Somalia is an extreme case, highly exposed and vulnerable to subversive disinformation operations by internal spoilers, external predators, or their respective proxies. 

It’s unfortunate that people who should know better have become fountains or convenient vehicles for this infectious, toxic and deadly affliction. These include officials who held positions of authority and influence in government. Just days after the election and transfer of power, the country began witnessing former leaders and senior government officials waging targeted disinformation against the new government both in subtle ways and in crude and casual methods. 

A clear example of this emerged yesterday in the most dramatic fashion. The former Chief of the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), a mercurial, shadowy character who fled the country, hurled salvos of  disinformation from an undisclosed location abroad in the form of an interview given to a little known media outlet. The man dubbed “The Master/Patron of the State” let loose a barrage of lies and deceitful propaganda clearly intended to discredit and malign the new President and his key allies, sow and weaponize discord, division and toxic hatred, foment trouble between Somalia and its neighbors, and mislead public opinion, internally and internationally. It was a well choreographed, vicious, venomous, and vindictive disinformation plot launched a day before the planned inauguration of the new President. The question being asked across the country is: if he is capable of doing this when he fled as a fugitive, what was he up to when he was in office and wielded immense power as “The Master/Patron of the State” during the past five years?

There are also other categories of people that feature in the murky and corrosive enterprise of disinformation. Among these are reporters some of whom work in famous and highly influential global media giants, which broadcast news and current affairs in Somali. Many may have done this inadvertently. At the same time, the frequency and regularity with which variations of disinformation are put on air indicate deeper explanations or even malign intentions. 

Amateur or aspiring journalists and social media actors form a third group. They are easily lured into or ensnared by simple but highly deceptive and well targeted disinformation operations. Many become active and enthusiastic vehicles of disinformation without knowing it.

Disinformation is a lethal weapon deployed in a new kind of war. It ought to be seen and treated as such. Ignoring it or wishing and hoping that it would vanish by itself is extremely naive. It warrants a smart, decisive, befitting, and timely response. The government alone cannot fight and win this evil war. The political class, academia, the media, publishing industry, traditional and religious leaders, and artists must chip in and do their part. 

Remain alert & undeceived!

Keynanhassan@hotmail.com