The Ethiopian Media Authority warns four international media outlets. The four media outlets that received the warning are CNN,BBC,AP & Reuters.
The Ethiopian Media Authority, in issuing licenses for journalistic operations, expects reports not to endanger Ethiopia’s national interest, Territorial integrity, or the peaceful coexistence of the people of Ethiopia.
Since the onset of the law enforcement operation in the Northern Region of Ethiopia by the Federal government, the Ethiopian Media Authority has been monitoring numerous foreign media outlets and conducting a trend analyst on their reporting patterns on the issue.
Unfortunately, the Authority finds CNN as one of the mainstream news organizations that have consistently disseminated news that sowed seeds of animosity among people and compromised the sovereignty of the country. As covered in detail within this letter, the Authority has identified some of the trends of media misconduct and shady CNN reporting, which include:
l, Manufacturing, and dissemination of false news and news analyses on Ethiopia to assist the TPLF’s objectives;
2. Reporting the Law enforcement operation as a genocidal campaign;
3, Reports undermining the government’s efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region;
4. Reporting that the government is using famine and rape as a weapon of war in the Tigray region;
5. Producing a defamatory report on the country’s leading institutions;
6. Generating news seeking to discredit the country’s leader in the international arena and put the country under intense diplomatic pressure.
The Authority would like to bring to your notice that despite repeated attempts, formal and informal discussions, to rectify journalistic misconduct of your news institution, no significant changes have been registered so far.
Given the Authority’s responsibility to protect the wellbeing of the Ethiopian people from the dissemination of unsubstantiated information, the Authority, hereby, extends to your institution a written warning with an understanding that the absence of ethical and professional journalistic operation, the Authority would be compelled to revoke the license granted to your Institution to operate in Ethiopia.
