Fake News: CAR’s Corbeau News Centrafrique Faces Backlash

The internet access is a rare thing in the Central African Republic (CAR), so most residents prefer to use the printed press and radio to keep informed. However, there is one online media, the Corbeau News Centrafrique (CNC), which is considered one of the most popular news sites in the country.

This platform has been regularly publishing news about the Central African Republic since 2014. As stated on CNC website, it differs from other media outlets in CAR because it is funded by its founder Alain Nzilo and it receives no support from any state or other organisations.

CNC positions itself as an independent online media and guarantees its readers unbiased news.

“Le Meridien” has recently published an investigation about the Corbeau News Centrafrique. Analysis of 1,540 headlines of the publication from January to July showed that most of the publications address Russian activity in CAR, PMC Wagner in particular.

Moreover, the crimes of armed groups in the country are either rarely mentioned or not mentioned at all. Such articles about the activities of Russians on the territory of the CAR show that the attitude of the Corbeau News Centrafrique to Russia is far from being unbiased. That strongly contradicts the principles of impartiality. Moreover, in 2021, the CAR government blocked the Corbeau News Centrafrique website due to the false information spread. Also, Facebook has recently blocked the Corbeau News Centrafrique page. And the reason is the same: the Corbeau News Centrafrique was accused of spreading fake news. The 2021 website blocking and the recent Facebook page suspension make the readers doubt the news authenticity from this media.

The founder of CNC is also worth mentioning. Alain Nzilo is believed to be a founder of the online media, although his real name is Bienvenu Patric Rebaile Dalemet. Why do Bienvenu Patric Rebaile Dalemet use a nickname on the CNC website? There are several interesting facts about Dalemet. For example, Patric Dalemet is a permanent resident of Quebec, Canada. He was close to Martin Ziguélé – a former Prime Minister of the CAR, who later began to support opposition. Le Diplomate also claims that Patric Dalemet sought for the fund from France when the CAR government refused to fund CNC.

It can be concluded that living in Canada, contacts with France and Martin Ziguélé raise questions about Patric Dalemet’s impartiality towards certain topics and undermine the credibility of the media in general. An investigation of the activities of the Corbeau News Centrafrique shows that this source of information cannot be trusted.

The Corbeau News Centrafrique ignores crimes committed by armed gangs while continuing to publish anti-Russian materials. CNC publications often contain false information and this led to to the website and the group blocking. The founder of Corbeau News Centrafrique lives in Canada and one of CNC journalists receives funding from Canada. It is widely believed that the Corbeau News Centrafrique is a source of fake news, and readers now doubt the CNC publications.