See end of post for an update on this item
Mauritanian journalist Riyadh Ahmed, who decided yesterday to blow the whistle on 27 of his colleagues and managers of print, electronic and audio-visual media (here or see image below) but declined to publish the documents and audio he claims he has as evidence of them accepting payments, seemed to have been scooped by an anonymous blog. In response, Riyadh Ahmed claims (or see image below) that the list on the blog is fake, and exhorts us to ignore it. What a fine mess.
We could ask: what evidence exists to show that the vast majority of Mauritanian media is independent or above corruption to begin with? Documents, tapes, etc could be mere confirmation of common knowledge, no more startling than Edward Snowden’s serialised revelations about state surveillance methods and programs that have been known of for years. My dear friends: distraction, not discovery, is the name of the game.
UPDATE 27 December 2013: On 24 December, Riyadh posted an apology (see image below) and retracted his intention to publish the list, citing the pleading of three associates, who had managed to persuade him that to continue would bring too much harm to their shared profession. The statement attracted a mixed reaction, including demands to publish regardless. A couple of days have passed now without further comment, so it seems that this distraction is over for now.
When is glass not transparent? When it’s mirrored.
@lissnup 