Introduction
As the world navigates an increasingly complex digital landscape, Africa finds itself at a crossroads. The integrity of information and the freedom of media are more critical than ever—from safeguarding elections to defending human rights. In 2025–26, the continent faces urgent challenges yet also possesses the opportunity to assert its voice and leadership in shaping both media governance and digital discourse.
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1. Declining Press Freedom and Political Pressure
Over the past few years, Africa has consistently underperformed on global press freedom indices, and 2025 has brought fresh evidence of deepening cracks across the continent’s media environments. According to Reporters Without Borders’ 2025 World Press Freedom Index, approximately 80 percent of African countries recorded declines in their economic indicators—a troubling trend that is tightly linked to declining media independence Businessday NG+4The Press Council of South Africa+4allAfrica.com+4. Of particular concern are Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, which rank an alarming 122nd, 56th and 131st out of 180 countries, respectively, and have all seen marked deterioration in political, economic and legislative press freedom scores The Press Council of South Africa.
In Nigeria, which now sits at 122nd, media independence is severely distorted by concentrated media ownership often tied to influential political figures—creating pervasive pressure to conform to the preferences of ruling elites The Press Council of South AfricaBusinessday NG. This concentration is not limited to ownership: promotion and dismissal of editors often involve government officials, further entwining political power with editorial control Businessday NG.
Meanwhile in Sierra Leone, where the press ranked 56th in 2025 (an improvement from 64th in 2024), the landscape remains fragile: government advertisement dominates the media economy, and outlets often depend on official subsidies that come with implicit strings attached allAfrica.com+4Reporters Without Borders+4moice.gov.sl+4. Cameroon’s position at 131st reflects a deteriorating environment intensified by harassment of independent journalists, pretrial detentions in military courts, and escalating censorship—especially ahead of its anticipated October 2025 election Reporters Without BordersWikipedia.
Economic Fragility & Ownership Concentration
One of the key dynamics intensifying press self‑censorship and editorial compromise is economic fragility. In sub‑Saharan Africa, over 88 percent of countries reported that media outlets cannot achieve financial stability or manage it only with great difficulty Askanwi+4allAfrica.com+4The Press Council of South Africa+4. Even in more stable economies, media firms struggle to survive without securing government-linked advertising and opaque public subsidies—a situation that directly jeopardizes journalistic independence.
For instance, many Nigerian outlets depend substantially on the marketing budgets of state-owned enterprises or companies with close ties to governing elites. As a result, coverage that critiques those power structures risks withdrawal of advertising, fines, or even regulatory retaliation — a dynamic vividly illustrated in Kenya, where Safaricom ceased advertising with The Nation newspaper following critical reporting on surveillance allegations The Press Council of South Africa.
In Sierra Leone, even after some reforms, media houses are reported to be financially beholden to government subventions. While the government doubled its subvention to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists in 2025, such dependency invariably creates implicit pressure to avoid critical journalism moice.gov.sl+1The Sierra Leone Telegraph+1.
Geographic Spread and Examples
This troubling trend is not confined to just the countries named. In Benin, ranked 92nd, non‑transparent allocation of state advertising and regulatory fines has been cited as a source of pressure on local outlets to avoid sensitive topics The Press Council of South Africa. In Togo, ranked 121st, similar patterns emerge: newsrooms are squeezed economically, and ownership concentration favors politically aligned actors who steer editorial priorities accordingly The Press Council of South Africa.
Even countries with relatively better press rankings, such as Gambia (58th) and Liberia (54th), face uneven subsidy practices and regulatory ambiguity, often leaving critical outlets economically marginalised or selectively targeted by taxation policies and licensing hurdles — reinforcing self-censorship across the sector AskanwiReporters Without Borders.
Legal Repression: Cybercrime, Defamation & National Security Laws
Beyond economic coercion, African states across West Africa and the Sahel are increasingly employing repressive legal frameworks—notably cybercrime legislation, national security provisions, and expanded defamation laws—to curtail independent journalism.
A dramatic example unfolded in Nigeria in May 2024, when investigative journalist Daniel Ojukwu was held in custody for over a week under the nation’s cybercrime law after publishing reports exposing alleged government corruption. He was not brought before a court within the 48-hour legal window, and civil society groups decried the arrest as symptomatic of how cybercrime statutes are misused to silence critical reporting. Nigeria’s ranking of 112th in the 2024 index underlined these legal threats, with cybercrime, state secrecy, anti-terrorism and defamation laws all cited as tools of suppression Wikipedia+13reuters.com+13Askanwi+13. Indeed, investigations by CIVICUS and other organisations confirm that such laws are disproportionately used against journalists targeting official misconduct monitor.civicus.org.
In Niger, blogger Samira Sabou was the first person prosecuted under a restrictive cybercrime law after publishing an investigative piece on corruption within the Ministry of Defence. She was detained for 48 days and subjected to criminal defamation charges—though later acquitted, her case illustrates how legal systems are weaponized to intimidate investigative voices Wikipedia.
In Cameroon, journalists operate under pervasive legal threat. Government authorities frequently invoke laws against press offences, defamation and national security, and resort to military court prosecutions. Former state media executive Amadou Vamoulké remains imprisoned after a post‑2016 conviction, and numerous independent reporters have faced harassment, physical assault and pre‑emptive detentions, especially in the lead-up to elections in 2024–25 Wikipedia+1monitor.civicus.org+1.
Additionally, in the Sahel region, journalist Mohamed Attaher Halidou of Mali—a persistent critic of military regimes—saw his outlet Joliba TV suspended twice after broadcasting political criticism. He now faces ongoing uncertainty over his ability to operate lawfully in an environment shaped by repressive media authorities and administrative censorship washingtonpost.com.
Cumulative Impact: Erosion of Editorial Independence
Collectively, the synergy of media ownership concentration, economic dependency, and bad-faith legal frameworks is producing a culture of self‑censorship and editorial compromise. Even when constitutional protections formally prohibit press repression, these structural pressures nullify them in practice. Journalists, especially those in investigative or critical outlets, increasingly avoid sensitive coverage for fear of losing livelihood or facing legal persecution.
Indeed, the IPI’s 2024 Africa report documented 376 violations or threats to press freedom across sub‑Saharan Africa, impacting at least 480 journalists. Over 87 percent of these incidents involved state actors—most often police, regulatory bodies, or government officials—and included arrests, harassment, raids and censorship tactics. Nigeria, this report notes, accounted for the largest share of incidents in the region The Press Council of South Africa.
In West Africa, Spaces for Change reported 207 documented incidents targeting press freedoms between 2017 and 2022—with Nigeria alone responsible for 122 of them. Across the region, repressive polices disproportionately affect journalists more than any other civic group, with tactics including arbitrary arrests, bribes, fines, hacking of devices, office raids, and targeted intimidation of those covering topics like environmental justice or anti-corruption investigations thecable.ng.
An Unstable Landscape
Overall, the combination of declining media independence, economic fragility, concentrated ownership, and weaponised legislation paints a bleak picture for editorial freedom in much of Africa. Countries like Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Cameroon exemplify how these pressures intersect, undercutting formal freedoms and choking off critical journalism. Economic hardship and reliance on government-linked revenue streams mean that even outlets with established reputations often struggle to maintain autonomy. Repressive laws around cybercrime, defamation, anti-fake news and national security are applied selectively, fuelling legal insecurity and promoting self‑censorship.
As the continent heads into 2025–26, the urgent task for African democracies and media advocates alike is to reverse these trends—by diversifying media funding, breaking ownership monopolies, reforming poorly defined laws, and safeguarding legal protections for journalism. Without such changes, press freedom will continue to decline, entrenching a dangerous cycle that undermines accountability, transparency, and the very fabric of democracy.
2. Journalists Under Threat: Arrests & Crackdowns
Recent events in Burkina Faso underscore the severity of the crisis. In March 2025, the military junta arrested leading journalists—dissolved the national Journalists Association—and silenced critical voices amid a broader trend of repression in the Alliance of Sahel States AP News.
Similarly, media suppression in Ethiopia has intensified. What started as reforms in 2019 swiftly reversed. Since the outbreak of war in Tigray, at least 200 journalists have been detained, outlets shut down, and widespread censorship enforced. Facing the upcoming 2026 general elections, many journalists now self-censor out of fear The Guardian.
3. Social Media, Disinformation & Platform Governance
Africa’s digital sphere has grown explosively: over 300 million Africans joined social media in the past seven years, and now there are about 600 million internet users—many sourcing news primarily through platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook Global Investigative Journalism Network. Disinformation campaigns soared—189 documented in Africa in 2023 alone, a 300% increase from 2022 Global Investigative Journalism Network.
Meta’s decision in early 2025 to terminate its third-party fact‑checking programme and replace it with a user-driven “Community Notes” system has raised alarms. Without professional fact-checking infrastructure in many African countries, this shift risks exacerbating misinformation, electoral manipulation, and violence civicwatch.cm+1DISA+1.
Meanwhile, foreign influence campaigns—especially from Russia and China—have ramped up. Russia employs covert social media operations and state outlets; China invests in regional media narratives promoting state‑backed partnerships. These activities thrive amid weakened platform oversight and diminished local fact-checking capacity DISA.
Notably, Meta is facing a $2.4 billion lawsuit in Kenya for allegedly allowing hate speech and incitement on its platform—especially during the Ethiopia conflict—underscoring the real-world harm of mismanaged digital spaces The Guardian.
Internet shutdowns also saw a record high in 2024—21 outages across 15 African countries—weaponized during protests, elections, and conflicts. These blackouts practically silence media and impede access to credible information, undermining civic engagement and human rights The Guardian.
4. Innovations in Fact‑Checking, AI & Civic Engagement
In response, journalism innovators across Africa are pioneering new tools and strategies:
- Organizations such as Africa Check (since 2012), Fact‑Check Ghana, and PesaCheck (under Code for Africa) lead continent-wide fact‑checking initiatives with multilingual outreach and public trainingThe Guardian+15wikipedia.org+15Global Investigative Journalism Network+15.
- Code for Africa operates in over 20 countries, supporting data journalism, verification tools, and civic engagement projects aimed at increasing media accountabilitywikipedia.org.
- FactCheckAfrica and others are leveraging AI: MyAIFactChecker is tailored to African languages and contexts; an AI Journalism Fellowship trains reporters in auditing machine-generated content and resisting bias in automationDISA+1net+1.
5. Emerging Policy Frameworks: African‑Led Platform Oversight
In May 2025, UNESCO and Media Monitoring Africa launched multi‑stakeholder consultations across several countries—including Zambia—to draft Africa‑centered guidelines for platform governance. These are grounded in the African Commission’s ACHPR Resolution 630, aiming for digital rights-respecting frameworks and inclusive regulation of tech companies’ roles in information integrity. The final guidelines are expected in early 2026, ahead of a continental launch at World Press Freedom Day 2026 unesco.org.
These efforts emphasize accountability, language-diverse AI moderation, and public participation—not top-down global frameworks—to meet Africa’s specific media ecosystem challenges.
6. A Voice for 2025–26: What Must Change
To advance information integrity and safeguard media freedom in 2025–26, Africa needs:
a. Strengthened Legal Protections
Buffer laws must be reformed to protect investigative journalism and prevent misuse of defamation, cybersecurity, and anti‑fake news statutes. Legislative frameworks must standardize media independence, transparent subsidies, and shield outlets from undue pressure mfwa.orgpresscouncil.org.za.
b. Sustainable, Independent Media Funding
Reduce reliance on state or corporate advertising. Expand public media funding models that are transparent, editorially independent, and regionally accessible. Support civil society grants and donor-backed media labs that prioritize accountability reporting.
c. Robust Fact‑Checking & Media Literacy
Scale up ex‑ante and ex‑post fact‑checking infrastructures. Broaden digital literacy education, especially in local languages, to equip citizens with tools to assess information credibility amid deepfake and AI-generated threats mediadefence.orgGlobal Investigative Journalism Networkfactcheckafrica.net.
d. Platform Accountability & African Guidelines
Push for enforcement of the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms, uphold UNESCO consultative outcomes, and demand meaningful observability from platforms like Meta, TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube. Platforms must provide transparent moderation processes, inclusive language support, and rights-based oversight structures en.wikipedia.org.
e. Collaboration Across Stakeholders
Forge stronger partnerships among journalists, civil society, academia, and policymakers. Amplify African voices in global media governance, research, and policy spaces. Investment is needed in grassroots innovation labs and investigative teams to uncover disinformation operations Global Investigative Journalism Networkunesco.org.
Conclusion
The integrity of information and media freedom are central to African democracy, stability, and societal resilience. As the continent enters 2025–26, it must claim agency—creating its own frameworks, empowering its fact‑checkers, and supporting its journalists. In doing so, Africa can become a global model for digital integrity, media accountability, and inclusive innovation.
📚 Suggested External References
- UNESCO / Media Monitoring Africa: Consultations on African guidelines for platform oversight (ACHPR Resolution 630)
- Global Investigative Journalism Network: “How Journalism Groups in Africa Are Building AI Tools” (Oct 2024)
- The Press Council of South Africa / RSF: World Press Freedom Index 2025 — regional decline and media ownership pressures
- AP News: Burkina Faso jailing journalists (Mar 2025), Tunisia controversial anti-fake news law (Apr 2025), Ethiopia press crackdown (May 2025)
- The Guardian: Internet shutdowns record in Africa (Mar 2025), Meta lawsuit Kenya ($2.4 bn over hate speech in Ethiopia)
- DISA / Africa Uncensored: Disinformation and smear campaigns targeting journalists in Kenya and across Africa
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