(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release: MALAWI 1999 ELECTION DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN REVEALED ARTICLE 19’s report on the 1999 Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Malawi highlights serious procedural shortcomings and heavy manipulation of media coverage by the government and ruling UDF. Most seriously, ARTICLE 19’s monitoring team stumbled across a disinformation […]
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) – The following is an ARTICLE 19 press release:
MALAWI 1999 ELECTION DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN REVEALED
ARTICLE 19’s report on the 1999 Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Malawi highlights serious procedural shortcomings and heavy manipulation of media coverage by the government and ruling UDF. Most seriously, ARTICLE 19’s monitoring team stumbled across a disinformation operation apparently being carried out by two teams directly connected to the government and ruling party.
Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19 said:
“We are extremely concerned by the strong indications that an active campaign of misinformation was centrally orchestrated using the state media, and we remain unconvinced that the problems with registration in the run-up to the election in Malawi were entirely due to poor administration or incompetence.”
The disinformation operation was stumbled across by accident when ARTICLE 19’s monitoring team attempted to follow up a “Voter Action Poll” published in all government-owned and pro-UDF media in February 1999. It emerged that a series of organisations mentioned in the pro-government media did not exist. Not only that, but evidence was fabricated and attributed directly to reputable international sources, such as the Economist magazine.
ARTICLE 19 found that since the 1994 elections there had been a marked deterioration in the environment for fair polls, due to factors including the above, but also:
a. Lack of independence in the broadcast media with national reach;
b. Controversy over the Electoral Commission’s membership and actions;
c. Shortage of ballot papers on polling day.
ENDS
To view the executive summary of ARTICLE 19’s final report of the 1999 Malawi election media monitoring project (At the Crossroads: freedom of expression in Malawi), visit the Africa publications section of www.article19.org.
