Tunisian Bloggers Identify Doctored Photo

Posted by Taylor Berry in Access to Information, Blogging, Build Awareness , Middle East & North Africa

The Challenge

While the Tunisian constitution guarantees freedom of press, reality did not reflect such liberties. Until the 2011 up rise, most newspapers spoke in favor of then-President Ben Ali and his government, and those that voiced criticism were quickly seized and shut down. Further, in an attempt to curb dissidence and instability, many restrictions blocked foreign newspapers from entering the country. As a result, the Tunisian government used the media as a tool for propaganda, manipulating and fabricating “news” to its benefit and at its discretion.

 

The Players, Tools, and Tactics

On August 20, 2010, doubts were raised when newspaper Le Temps and its Arabic counterpart Assabah published that day a story on Tunisian foundation Al Zeitouna’s efforts in providing aid to flood victims in Pakistan. Bloggers noticed that the picture accompanying the story – featuring Ben Ali’s son in law Sakhr El Matri helping to inspect the outgoing materials – looked strangely doctored. The knowledge that Sakhr El Matri was “fully involved in the management of both newspapers” only heightened suspicions that the pictures were a staged publicity attempt.

The ousting circulated quickly as various blogs – international and domestic – picked up the story. A Tunisian blogger known as Malekk applauded the “vigilance of the Tunisian Internet” in standing up to the propaganda machine of the government. He noted that almost instantly, the doctored photos had been shown to dozens of people who then shared them with their friends and social circles.

GlobalVoices.org – an online forum for hundreds of international bloggers – translated and posted the story on August 24, 2010 and also created a Facebook notes page to spread the word further.

 

The Stumbling Blocks

Despite the progress Tunisia made to improve its telecom sector and increase Internet access, the government still imposed “pervasive filtering” of online content, particularly when it related to political or human rights issues.  Violators of oft-unclear restrictions faced fines, imprisonment, assault and, in some instances, were banned from leaving the country. While there was no documentation of anyone involved in this story facing punishment, their activity still put the bloggers at an increased risk of reprimand or worse.

 

The Outcome

While neither newspaper acknowledged the accusations, they both quickly replaced the pictures in the online version of the story and released a subsequent video of Sakhr El Matri at the airbase (though rumors say the video was taken AFTER the article was published). At the least, this incident made a mockery of the government’s blatant manipulation of the news media. Meanwhile, it demonstrated a growing distrust of the government and its lack of transparency that precipitated Tunisia’s revolution just months later.

 

blog comments powered by Disqus