NEW ATTACK ON TRAORÉ BUT COMMENTS PASS THE VIBE CHECK ✅

In February, Burkina Faso's government accused Human Rights Watch (HRW) of fabricating reports and was effectively banned. On 12 May, HRW published another report accusing the country’s army of 'ethnic attacks against civilians' in March. Various media outlets have circulated the allegation. However, many are suspicious, viewing this as another imperial manoeuvre.

Nearly four decades ago, a similar smear campaign targeted Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, who was assassinated in October 1987. Journalist François Hauter revealed in 2008 that the French state had solicited him to write defamatory articles against Sankara. This was allegedly part of a campaign orchestrated by France's foreign intelligence agency, which provided Hauter with discrediting information. His smear articles were published in 1986, about a year before Sankara’s murder. Hauter later said he felt used and culpable for his involvement in the plot against Sankara.

In 2011, misinformation and manufactured consent were employed to justify the NATO intervention in Libya and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. The US claimed that Gaddafi was planning mass killings of civilians, a lie that was later debunked. Similarly, the 2003 invasion of Iraq was justified by false claims that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction, which Washington later admitted were untrue.

Today, all means are being used to character assassinate Burkina Faso's president, Ibrahim Traoré. But it seems our people no longer fall for the same old tricks - at least judging by the Al Jazeera comments section below its article on the latest HRW allegations. Have a watch, and then let us know your thoughts.