Alassane Ouattara declared “ I owe nothing to anyone except France » in an interview with Young Africa? This is what several Internet users have wrongly claimed on social networks in recent days. This false information, online for several years, is based on a manipulated cover of an old magazine Young Africa.
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For several days, African Internet users have been broadcasting on Facebook and on X (formerly Twitter), the cover of a newspaper Young Africa dated May 29, 2011 and dedicated to the Ivorian president, Alassane Ouattara. According to the screenshot they shared, the weekly headlined “ I owe nothing to anyone except France “. This false quote is directly attributed to the Ivorian head of state.
“ This statement, today more than ever, resonates like a confession. The veil has fallen: is Ivory Coast simply reduced to the rank of a sub-prefecture of France? This sentence arouses strong emotion, especially in a context where the links between French-speaking Africa and the former colonial power are increasingly contested. », Comments a Burkinabè internet user. In reality, this quote was completely invented since this cover of Young Africa was manipulated.
Thanks to a keyword search, you can easily find the authentic cover of the magazine Young Africa published on May 29, 2011. The weekly presents one of the first interviews with Alassane Ouattara since his accession to power in May 2011, but the original quote does not refer to France, but to Côte d’Ivoire: ” I owe nothing to anyone except the Ivorians “.
Original cover of Jeune Afrique.
Someone therefore modified the title by imitating the graphic charter of Jeune Afrique. The low display quality and font of the words “ to France» are clues among others showing manipulation.
A misinformation several years old
This is not the first time that this false information has spread on social networks. A reverse image search (see here how to do it) shows that the fake news has been circulating on Facebook at least since December 2019. Accounts openly opposed to the policy led by Alassane Ouattara bring it out of the closet every year, to make clicks and attack the Ivorian president.
Several African fact-checking media have already denied this rumor, notably in August 2023. This is the case ofIvory CheckofAssoblog and of GuineaCheck. Despite this verification work, this false information is today re-shared by Sahelian accounts already identified as important vectors of disinformation in the region.
