Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Disinformation in Tigray: Manufacturing Consent For a Secessionist War
New African Institute
19 May 2021
🖨️ Print Article
Disinformation in Tigray: Manufacturing Consent For a Secessionist War
Disinformation in Tigray: Manufacturing Consent For a Secessionist War

Corporate media in the imperial countries have spread disinformation on the real nature of the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray state.

“Eritrea has served as the primary scapegoat.”

 

Today, New Africa Institute publishes its Disinformation in Tigray report to provide an evidence-based analysis of the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Regional State, which is an irredentist, ethnic secessionist war led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) against the multiethnic federal government. Although the conflict officially started on November 4, 2020 after TPLF, by its own admission, attacked the federal government’s Northern Command based in Tigray, this showdown had been brewing for decades.

Since the start of hostilities, there has been an explosion of disinformation in the mainstream and social media. This report carefully analyzes the causes and methods of disinformation propagation. Ultimately, the disinformation serves to manufacture consent for an unpopular irredentist, ethnic secessionist war that could not be justified in the eyes of the international public through honest reporting.

The media, non-governmental organizations and Western governments have forwarded a number of allegations of crimes upon the people of Tigray perpetrated by the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries. Eritrea has served as the primary scapegoat. Much of the reporting of these crimes, devoid of evidence and context, has proven sensational and racist with savage-like portrayals of Eritreans and Ethiopians that draw on old colonial tropes of Africans. This report looks beyond the gaudy headlines and provides sober, evidence-based analysis of the major allegations. Significant focus is given to social media as most disinformation about Tigray originates there.

Additionally, this report assesses the nature of and problems with Western media’s overall coverage of the Tigray conflict. Lastly, it provides analysis of the actions by Western governments and likely consequences of those actions to encourage better policy decisions in the Horn of Africa moving forward.

Click HERE to scroll down and read the report, or download it.

This article previously appeared in the New African Institute website.

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

Ethiopia and Eritrea

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Interview with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki – Part I
Ministry of Information Eritrea
Interview with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki – Part I
22 February 2023
The president of Eritrea gives a wide ranging interview on the U.S.
Ethnic Violence Plagues Ethiopia Near its Mighty New Dam
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ethnic Violence Plagues Ethiopia Near its Mighty New Dam
29 June 2022
Conflict in Ethiopia continues to claim the lives of many civilians, as recently happened in the Wellega region.
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part 5
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part 5
01 June 2022
Ann Garrison ends her reporting from the Horn of Africa with updates on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the conflict between Ethiopia a
U.S. military outposts, port facilities, and other areas of access in Africa, 2002-2015 (Nick Turse/TomDispatch, 2015)
Dina M. Asfaha, Tunde Osazua
Eritrea Versus AFRICOM: Defending Sovereignty in the Face of Imperialist Aggression
01 December 2021
The rapid expansion of AFRICOM on the African continent should be a cause for concern as African nations are quickly surrendering their soverei
#NoMore Censorship of Africa’s Roving Digital Army of Peace
Simon Tesfamariam
#NoMore Censorship of Africa’s Roving Digital Army of Peace
01 December 2021
The removal of Twitter accounts advocating for peace in the Horn of Africa shows the connection between the state and big tech companies.
U.S. Escalates Threats to Ethiopian and Eritrean Sovereignty
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
U.S. Escalates Threats to Ethiopian and Eritrean Sovereignty
01 September 2021
U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman recently returned from a tour of Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the United Arab Emirates.
Ethiopians Go to the Polls Even After the US Tells Them Not to
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ethiopians Go to the Polls Even After the US Tells Them Not to
23 June 2021
Many Ethiopians expressed enthusiasm for what they consider the country’s first real, competitive election, writes Ann Garrison.
Ethiopia: Tribalism versus National Consciousness
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ethiopia: Tribalism versus National Consciousness
16 June 2021
Ethiopians struggle to forge a national consciousness that supersedes ethnic tribalism, while international human rights NGOs discuss their "r
Prelude to War? The US/NATO, Egypt, and Ethiopian Sovereignty
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Prelude to War? The US/NATO, Egypt, and Ethiopian Sovereignty
09 June 2021
Ethiopian American activist and community organizer Benyam Kitaw tells Ann Garrison that US hostility toward Ethiopia could lead to further sanctio
How to Wreck a Black Nation In the Age of “Black Lives Matter”
Taytu Bitul
How to Wreck a Black Nation In the Age of “Black Lives Matter”
09 June 2021
Today’s colonialists recruit Black politicians and Black terrorist groups who are willing to play along.

More Stories


  • AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #46
    Black Alliance for Peace US Out of Africa Network
    AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #46
    26 Apr 2023
    The impact of the U.S./NATO destruction of the Libyan state is still being felt. AFRICOM is still the great destabilizer of the entire African continent.
  • Wuambushu, An Ignoble and Disgusting Propaganda Operation Under the Sun of Mayotte
    Initiative Communiste
    Wuambushu, An Ignoble and Disgusting Propaganda Operation Under the Sun of Mayotte
    26 Apr 2023
    Mayotte is a French overseas territory island located in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. It is also near the Comoros Islands, whose citizens travel to Mayotte as undocumented…
  • Oregon Domestic Terrorism Law Targets the Far Right: Here’s How It’ll Backfire
    Natasha Lennard
    Oregon Domestic Terrorism Law Targets the Far Right: Here’s How It’ll Backfire
    26 Apr 2023
    The Democrat-sponsored bill has broad bipartisan support, but civil rights groups say it’s open to misuse against climate and racial justice activists.
  • The Toxic Legacy of U.S. Foreign Policy in Vieques, Puerto Rico
    Monisha Rios
    The Toxic Legacy of U.S. Foreign Policy in Vieques, Puerto Rico
    26 Apr 2023
    The women of Vieques, an island off the east coast of Puerto Rico, have been on the front lines of the generations-long struggle for peace and justice to end the havoc wrought by U.S. foreign policy…
  • Russia and China Win Big, US Hegemony Dies w/ Garland Nixon, Dr. Wilmer Leon, Danny Haiphong, Margaret Kimberley
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    Russia and China Win Big, US Hegemony Dies w/ Garland Nixon, Dr. Wilmer Leon, Danny Haiphong, Margaret Kimberley
    21 Apr 2023
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us