La Mission Liberatrice: Reframing Algerian Media Censorship in the 21st Century
Abstract
On June 13, 2021, the Algerian Ministry of Communication revoked the media accreditation of the French television news channel France 24 in Algeria. This was during a period of popular protest led by the pro-democracy Hirak party, on which France 24 has been reporting heavily. While the Ministry claims the move was due to France 24’s spread of misinformation due to implicit bias, the platform issued a statement the same day confirming they were surprised by the action because of the channel’s transparent coverage of all nations, including Algeria. Western-tied academics, media, and policymakers have viewed the revocation of France 24’s media accreditation as anti-democratic in nature. I challenge the established view among Western academics and policymakers, including Hafid Gafaïti, that media censorship in postcolonial Algeria is simply an undemocratic action associated with control and a denial of basic human rights. This specific decree was announced one day after legislative elections were held in Algeria and during a period of civil unrest in which there were several arrests of journalists and political opponents. However, I go beyond Algeria’s lack of democratic identity to argue there are historical, political, and psychological impacts of French colonialism which together explain Algeria’s decision to censor media and reclaim its own identity.
Subject
postcolonialismmass media
censorship
Algeria
freedom of the press
decolonization
France 24
Hirak
memory
imperialism
Glasscock Summer Scholars
Citation
Campanella, Myranda Michelle (2022). La Mission Liberatrice: Reframing Algerian Media Censorship in the 21st Century. Undergraduate Research Scholars Program. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /196541.