Crisis In North West, South West: Disinformation, Another Enemy

D isinformation is false infor­ mation that is intentionally created and spread to de­ ceive people, cause harm or gain an advantage. In the case of the situation in the North West and South West Regions where armed separa­ tists’ movements have been perpetra­ ting terror, disinformation became part of their day-to-day strategy. Di­ sinformation is rife especially on so­ cial media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter etc. For instance, the press release issued by the Minister Delegate at the Presi­ dency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Asomo on Wednesday August 5, denouncing the disinformation circu­ lated on social media on the opera­ tions of the Defence and Security forces carried out around the Batanga and Asaka villages in Akwaya Subdi­ vision, Manyu Division in the South West Region on July 17, 2026. This recent case rekindles memories of other episodes where separatists have deliberately created and spread false information to deceive people and gain sympathy from some gullible international networks. Their inten­ tion is usually to cause fear, gain sup­ port, or disrupt daily life in the North West and South West Regions. It was common to see old war photos/videos passed off as North West and South West. Images from Syria, Boko Haram attacks in the Far North or Central African Republic were shared as “mili­ tary burning villages in NW/SW.” Fact- checkers like Dubawa and Africa Check debunked several such images between 2018 and 2021. Photos of dead bodies from other conflicts around the world were posted with captions like “Army kills civilians in Buea/Kumba.” Reverse image searches often traced them back years earlier and to other countries. Also, videos of people in military uni­ form burning houses were circulated on social media. Some were later iden­ tified as filmed...