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Simon Allison Profile picture
@simonallison
May 11 • 6 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
This is the most alarming story I've worked on in a while. The French billionaire Vincent Bollore, described as "the French Rupert Murdoch", is trying to bring Africa's biggest broadcaster - MultiChoice, that's DStv, ShowMax and SuperSport - into his "right wing media empire". Image
Bollore has already created the "Fox News of France" which spews racist, anti-Muslim and climate denialism on the regular. What is he planning to do when he has direct control over 30 million TV screens in Africa? This would be a near monopoly on satellite TV on the continent. Image
Nevermind his history of allegedly corrupt relationships with African presidents. The guy is currently on trial for bribing the President of Togo. Canal+ suspended critical channels at the request of the junta leader in Guinea.
In France, @RSF_inter has said that Vincent Bollore's approach to media ownership is a "real threat to press freedom and democracy" (Bollore says he has no ideology and is a "very gentle and good natured"). Hard not to conclude that the same is true in Africa. Image
Full story in @thecontinent, download it here: thecontinent.org
Should be @thecontinent_

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More from @simonallison

Simon Allison Profile picture
Jan 30, 2021
Twitter has suspended our access to the @thecontinent_ account. It says we violated its policy on spreading misinformation about Covid. This was the offending tweet. 1/4
2. It’s a teaser for @thecontinent_’s vaccine coverage. We’ve got a story from one of the most respected health journalists in SA, @LLopezGonzalez, and one from me, based on a conversation with Bill Gates himself. It’s about as far from misinformation as it’s possible to get. 2/4
3. More likely than not, the decision to suspend @thecontinent_ was made by an algorithm. But if the algorithm is silencing independent journalism, it’s not working. Please help us get us reinstated by following @thecontinent_ and asking Twitter to reverse its decision. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Simon Allison Profile picture
Jul 31, 2020
Thread: In Zimbabwe this week, several prominent journalists, lawyers and activists have been abducted – allegedly by state security agents. This is not a bug, but a feature of Mnangagwa's government. 1/9
Mysterious, brutal abductions are how the president deals with opposition he is threatened by - be it opposition party members, human rights lawyers, journalists, and even comedians. Here's some quotes from our reporting over the last two years. 2/9
January 2019: “We are seeing targeted attacks. They have a list of people they are looking for. At roadblocks they demand ID and then check names against the list...Most civil society leaders and activists were abducted in the night” 3/9 mg.co.za/article/2019-0…
Read 9 tweets
Simon Allison Profile picture
Mar 31, 2020
Yesterday, @RedMicah and I went to report on how South Africa’s national lockdown is being enforced in its most densely-populated suburb - Hillbrow, near Johannesburg’s city centre. Driving around, we saw a cop get into this white unmarked car. So we followed it. 1/n
The white car drove up and down Hillbrow’s unusually quiet streets. Every few minutes, it would stop, and a plainclothes policeman in a red jacket would get out and chase young men in the streets. He was armed with a sjambok - a whip - and he would use it. Repeatedly. 2/n
Every time he got out of the car, the residents of the crowded Hillbrow apartments that line each street - all crammed on to their balconies - would boo and jeer. Watch this, where Red Jacket goes into a building and drags someone out. 3/n
Read 10 tweets
Simon Allison Profile picture
Apr 18, 2019
'Social media propaganda secretaries': the job title for the online influencers being hired by Nigerian politicians to run disinformation and fake news campaigns. @HassanIdayat and @JCHitchen went to meet some of them in Kano, and the details are wild. mg.co.za/article/2019-0…
We are really excited to publish the @mailandguardian's first ever story in Hausa, on the people who were running fake news and disinformation campaigns in Kano ahead of the Nigerian election: mg.co.za/article/2019-0…
Binciken da @HassanIdayat da @jchitchen suka gabatar a Kano kan yadda aka yi amfani da WhatsApp a zaben da ya gabata. (Godiya ga Aliyu Dahiru Aliyu da ya fassara zuwa Hausa) mg.co.za/article/2019-0…
Read 4 tweets
Simon Allison Profile picture
Jan 16, 2019
THREAD: I’ve spent most of today speaking to eyewitnesses, activists and analysts about the crackdown in Zimbabwe. Here are some initial observations. #ZimbabweShutdown
We still have very limited information about what is going on. The internet shutdown has been brutally effective in preventing communication both within Zimbabwe and between Zimbabwe and the outside world.
The extent of the crackdown, which appears to have a national footprint, suggests lots of organisation. Deploying so much force over such a wide area takes serious planning. This does not feel like a spontaneous response to protests.
Read 13 tweets
Simon Allison Profile picture
Jan 16, 2019
The news from Zimbabwe this morning is grim. I just spoke to an activist in Harare who says they have never seen violence and brutality on this scale. The crackdown came in response to protests against a dramatic fuel increase. #ZimbabweShutdown.
According to a medical professional, doctors around the country have treated at least 30 people with gunshot wounds, and 80 cases of serious assault. At least 2 people have died. These are just the cases that make it to hospital. #ZimbabweShutdown
"I’m hearing first-hand stories from friends living in high-density areas of soldiers going door to door, bashing down people’s doors, dragging them out into the streets, making them roll around in the mud," said one activist. #ZimbabweShutdown
Read 6 tweets

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