Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Disinformation in Tigray: Manufacturing Consent For a Secessionist War
New African Institute
19 May 2021
🖨️ Print Article
Disinformation in Tigray: Manufacturing Consent For a Secessionist War
Disinformation in Tigray: Manufacturing Consent For a Secessionist War

Corporate media in the imperial countries have spread disinformation on the real nature of the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray state.

“Eritrea has served as the primary scapegoat.”

 

Today, New Africa Institute publishes its Disinformation in Tigray report to provide an evidence-based analysis of the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray Regional State, which is an irredentist, ethnic secessionist war led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) against the multiethnic federal government. Although the conflict officially started on November 4, 2020 after TPLF, by its own admission, attacked the federal government’s Northern Command based in Tigray, this showdown had been brewing for decades.

Since the start of hostilities, there has been an explosion of disinformation in the mainstream and social media. This report carefully analyzes the causes and methods of disinformation propagation. Ultimately, the disinformation serves to manufacture consent for an unpopular irredentist, ethnic secessionist war that could not be justified in the eyes of the international public through honest reporting.

The media, non-governmental organizations and Western governments have forwarded a number of allegations of crimes upon the people of Tigray perpetrated by the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries. Eritrea has served as the primary scapegoat. Much of the reporting of these crimes, devoid of evidence and context, has proven sensational and racist with savage-like portrayals of Eritreans and Ethiopians that draw on old colonial tropes of Africans. This report looks beyond the gaudy headlines and provides sober, evidence-based analysis of the major allegations. Significant focus is given to social media as most disinformation about Tigray originates there.

Additionally, this report assesses the nature of and problems with Western media’s overall coverage of the Tigray conflict. Lastly, it provides analysis of the actions by Western governments and likely consequences of those actions to encourage better policy decisions in the Horn of Africa moving forward.

Click HERE to scroll down and read the report, or download it.

This article previously appeared in the New African Institute website.

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

Ethiopia and Eritrea

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Interview with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki – Part I
Ministry of Information Eritrea
Interview with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki – Part I
22 February 2023
The president of Eritrea gives a wide ranging interview on the U.S.
Ethnic Violence Plagues Ethiopia Near its Mighty New Dam
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ethnic Violence Plagues Ethiopia Near its Mighty New Dam
29 June 2022
Conflict in Ethiopia continues to claim the lives of many civilians, as recently happened in the Wellega region.
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part 5
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part 5
01 June 2022
Ann Garrison ends her reporting from the Horn of Africa with updates on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the conflict between Ethiopia a
U.S. military outposts, port facilities, and other areas of access in Africa, 2002-2015 (Nick Turse/TomDispatch, 2015)
Dina M. Asfaha, Tunde Osazua
Eritrea Versus AFRICOM: Defending Sovereignty in the Face of Imperialist Aggression
01 December 2021
The rapid expansion of AFRICOM on the African continent should be a cause for concern as African nations are quickly surrendering their soverei
#NoMore Censorship of Africa’s Roving Digital Army of Peace
Simon Tesfamariam
#NoMore Censorship of Africa’s Roving Digital Army of Peace
01 December 2021
The removal of Twitter accounts advocating for peace in the Horn of Africa shows the connection between the state and big tech companies.
U.S. Escalates Threats to Ethiopian and Eritrean Sovereignty
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
U.S. Escalates Threats to Ethiopian and Eritrean Sovereignty
01 September 2021
U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman recently returned from a tour of Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the United Arab Emirates.
Ethiopians Go to the Polls Even After the US Tells Them Not to
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ethiopians Go to the Polls Even After the US Tells Them Not to
23 June 2021
Many Ethiopians expressed enthusiasm for what they consider the country’s first real, competitive election, writes Ann Garrison.
Ethiopia: Tribalism versus National Consciousness
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Ethiopia: Tribalism versus National Consciousness
16 June 2021
Ethiopians struggle to forge a national consciousness that supersedes ethnic tribalism, while international human rights NGOs discuss their "r
Prelude to War? The US/NATO, Egypt, and Ethiopian Sovereignty
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Prelude to War? The US/NATO, Egypt, and Ethiopian Sovereignty
09 June 2021
Ethiopian American activist and community organizer Benyam Kitaw tells Ann Garrison that US hostility toward Ethiopia could lead to further sanctio
How to Wreck a Black Nation In the Age of “Black Lives Matter”
Taytu Bitul
How to Wreck a Black Nation In the Age of “Black Lives Matter”
09 June 2021
Today’s colonialists recruit Black politicians and Black terrorist groups who are willing to play along.

More Stories


  • Jon Jeter
    Unable to Squeeze Another Dime From Black People, a Subprime Economy Runs Aground
    26 Nov 2025
    America's financial overlords are hooked on a subprime lending model that preys on the poor, and now this unsustainable system is crashing down.
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Theme From the Bottom: Post COP 30 Reflections and the Case for a Global Bottom/Up Collective Intervention of Oppressed and Colonized People
    26 Nov 2025
    The path to climate liberation requires a radical break from failed leadership and a serious commitment to class analysis.
  • Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    The Lima Group and “Peaceful Transition”: the Neocolonial Role in US/Canadian Sanctions and Militarism Against Venezuelan Sovereignty
    26 Nov 2025
    While the U.S. justifies its new war on Venezuela as a counter-narcotics operation, the real target remains the Bolivarian Revolution and the alternative model of sovereignty it represents to the…
  • Bruce A. Dixon , BAR managing editor
    On The Left Side of History: Political Prisoner Imam Jamil Al Amin
    26 Nov 2025
    Imam Jamil Al-Amin was a revolutionary targeted by the state from the 1960s until he was unjustly convicted of murder in 2002. He died on November 23, 2025, an elder political prisoner who had been…
  • Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    The End of American Thanksgivings: A Cause for Universal Rejoicing
    26 Nov 2025
    Glen Ford wrote many powerful essays, but his unflinching analysis of the history of the holiday we call Thanksgiving remains relevant over 20 years after it was published.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us