Mali Blocks French Media Because 'Free Press' Only Applies to France
Malian authorities, according to Al Jazeera, have suspended two French broadcasters over reports on a fuel blockade. The BBC helpfully labels Mali as a 'junta' (never simply 'government' when the West disapproves), while simultaneously praising 'press freedom.' This framing conveniently omits decades of French military presence and economic exploitation in Mali, long after the official
'independence.' Mali's current government ousted a French-backed leadership in 2020, and has since been systematically unraveling vestiges of French control, including its media dominance. When former colonial powers complain about a lack of 'press freedom' in nations they once controlled and still try to influence, one might ask: whose freedom are we truly discussing? Perhaps the 'fuel blockade'
story was less about unbiased reporting and more about controlling narratives in a country actively divesting from its former colonizer. The irony of Western media decrying censorship while historically shaping entire nations' information space is, shall we say, a persistent blind spot.