Is press freedom a matter of double standards? In France, a petition calling for the closure of CNews surpassed one million signatures on Sunday, November 08th.
Its organizers accuse the channel of spreading false information, normalizing far-right ideas, and making racist remarks. Beyond the CNews case, this initiative challenges the collective conscience of Africans.
How can we understand that a popular mobilization can demand the disappearance of a media outlet in France in the name of its editorial excesses, when similar measures taken by African authorities against French media regularly provoke strong condemnation?
Indeed, when African governments decide to suspend or interrupt the broadcasting of RFI, France 24, Jeunes Afrique, etc. on their territory, reactions are usually swift.
Accusations of attacks on press freedom, denunciations of restrictions on freedom of expression, and concerns about the pluralism of information are often put forward.
This is not about denying CNews's potential shortcomings, much less contesting citizens' right to denounce a media outlet's excesses. But this mobilization prompts us to question the consistency of the discourse surrounding press freedom.
Freedom of the press cannot be a requirement reserved for certain media outlets or certain territories. A word to the wise!
Cheick Omar Ouedraogo
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