Media

Somalia’s fragile human-rights transition meets a test on press freedom GENEVA — In a packed room at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Somali and British officials yesterday set out an upbeat case that Somalia is inching toward stronger national institutions. But the event’s most urgent testimony came from civil society: a warning that progress on paper is being undermined by a resurgent and more sophisticated campaign to silence journalists. The UK and Somalia jointly hosted the side event during the council’s 60th…

When a president talks about yanking broadcasters' licences, what happens to free speech? When a U.S. president publicly urges regulators to punish television networks for negative coverage, it lands like a geological tremor for newsrooms accustomed to partisan heat but not regulatory menace. This week, President Donald Trump doubled down on his long-running assault on American journalism, calling the nation's TV networks "97% bad" and saying, bluntly, that their behaviour was "illegal" — comments that came as the Federal…

No democracy without a free press: Somalia’s fragile transition under threat On the International Day of Democracy this year, Somalia’s journalists — battered, detained and censored — were given a blunt reminder of what is at stake. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) recorded 59 incidents of assaults on media freedom across the country in 2025 alone, and warned that Somalia’s long-promised democratic transition will be hollow if those who inform the public cannot work without fear. That message should…

Egypt’s campaign against online creators exposes a new front in the fight over free expression In the last weeks Egyptian authorities have detained and charged dozens of people who make videos, run social accounts or otherwise produce content for the internet, according to Human Rights Watch. The accusations are striking not for their specificity but for their vagueness — a range of crimes from “public morals” violations to “undermining family values” — and for whom they appear to be aimed at: a generation that came of age…

Somalia moves against online defamation. The bigger story is who decides what’s dangerous speech—and when In Mogadishu’s humming tea stalls and on the diaspora’s WhatsApp groups from Minneapolis to Mombasa, politics is now a permanent scroll. Somalia’s Office of the Attorney General stepped squarely into that stream this week, announcing a legal push against what it called online insults, defamation, social incitement, offensive images, immoral content, false information, and posts that “promote societal division.” Some…

Embracing AI in Journalism: A New Dawn for African Media On a balmy August morning in Nairobi, under the expansive African sky, journalists from across the continent gathered to explore an evolving frontier—Artificial Intelligence in journalism. The half-day workshop, "The Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Its Impact on Journalism," organized by Xinhua News Agency Africa Regional Bureau, became a confluence of tradition and innovation, merging human stories with machine precision. A Meeting of Minds in Nairobi As I…

According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, Israel has launched assaults on the Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus. This reported activity comes just one day after a barrage of airstrikes targeting what Israel claimed were militant locations in the Syrian capital. This morning, explosions were noted in areas surrounding Damascus. SANA reported, "Israeli aggression targets the Mazzeh district in Damascus," although no additional information was provided. Israel has yet to respond publicly to these accusations. The Mazzeh…

Facebook Crackdown in Somalia Draws Heat Amid Political Friction MOGADISHU, Somalia — In an eyebrow-raising move, Somalia's political air gets thicker as Facebook suspends accounts of local political mavens and vocal scribes who've been blowing raspberries at the Federal Government. This social media surge coincides with simmering political strains in the country. Word on the street, delivered by Axadle, points to a curious exemption: supporters of the Federal Government, including those yapping for Villa Somalia, didn't…

NUSOJ Secretary General Omar Faruk Osman addressed the press, flanked by fellow journalists, during a significant event dedicated to the International Day to End Impunity Against Journalists in Mogadishu. The Somali government, alongside various diplomats stationed in the country, has made a united plea for enhanced safety measures for media professionals. This initiative comes as they vow to create a more secure atmosphere for journalists working within the nation. During the event, Farah Sheikh Abdulkadir, the…

As Guinea-Bissau gears up for its forthcoming elections, a notable chill has fallen over the media landscape, prompting serious worries about the state of press freedom in the country. Many media outlets face insurmountable obstacles, particularly the hefty $5,000 licensing fees imposed by the government, which they must pay to continue broadcasting. Consequently, a significant number of radio stations have found it challenging, if not impossible, to muster the funds necessary to renew their licenses in time for the…