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Washington D.C – Led by its military intelligence, the Algerian state is disseminating disinformation and lies in a deliberate crusade to discredit Morocco in the eyes of the Algerian people and the world. Rabat must invest resources to offset Algeria‘s weaponization of disinformation before the Algerian diplomacy undermines and challenges Morocco’s recent gains.
Through its myriad of “independent” television channels, Algeria has manufactured countless news stories to undermine the Moroccan state. TV channels like Echourouk and Annahar, which operate under military intelligence agencies, conduct well-coordinated vicious misinformation campaigns targeting Moroccan institutions and personalities.
As Algerian media outlets increase the frequency and intensity of their attacks, Rabat’s public relations responses remain disorganized and timid. Morocco has the expertise and resources, but its media lacks imagination and long-term vision. Rabat needs a media apparatus designed to counter the messaging orchestrated by the Algerian military.
Morocco’s authorities have relied too much on digital platforms to deliver their political messages. Such an approach is risky and could lead to a “catastrophic failure” in implementing the Kingdom’s long-term policies.
While this social media presence helps Morocco reach millions of people and build an online community, it undermines the uniformity of its diplomatic message. Moroccan authorities can’t rely on citizen mobilization to counter disinformation.
While the official Algerian news agency (APS) uses its resources to defame the Kingdom, Morocco’s Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) hardly addresses the scandals that have plagued the Algerian military establishment in the last ten years.
The MAP has been asleep, disconnected, and slow to act. It has ignored newsworthy scoops that could have generated significant media interest worldwide about the Algerian military’s corruption and criminal activities.
In fact, the Moroccan media hardly reported on recent allegations of money laundering and drug trafficking against the family of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. The story of the “Oran cocaine connection” that implicated high-ranking military officials in drug smuggling between Brazil and Europe thru the Algerian port of Oran never made news in Morocco or around the world. Furthermore, the Moroccan media rarely mentions Algeria‘s grave human rights violations and the illegal transfer of political activists from Spain to Algerian jails.
The APS is famous worldwide for its “obvious” lies and fake news. Numerous international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, and the World Bank, have officially denounced Algeria’s distortion of facts, figures, and events. Last year, Italy, Germany, and Russia asked the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to remove fake news from APS’s website.
Despite APS’s lousy reputation, Algeria has managed to enhance its propaganda tools against Morocco in part thanks to the reach of its “independent” television networks. These military intelligence “media” entities have a solid online presence and generate “a large amount” of anti-Semitic and anti-Morocco material. Such content is in turn widely and readily distributed on social media.
Rabat’s inability to push back against Algeria‘s disinformation content indicates a broader malaise in the Moroccan media. The country’s press organizations are limited, reluctant, and lack critical thinking. Moroccan officials underestimate the danger of Algerian propaganda on world opinion.
Morocco must draw up and implement an information operation plan to identify and combat online attacks using each available digital tool. Rabat should set up media cells to monitor misinformation campaigns and demand that the under-performing MAP respond to them. In addition, it must increase and reinvent its television, digital and social presence to counteract Algerian and Spanish attacks.
The Moroccan media lack strong and well-funded sources of information capable of identifying and covering events in Algeria and Spain. In fact, except for the daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, there is no major Moroccan media outlet “skilled” enough to cover and analyze the ongoing brawl among feuding Algerian military clans, the General Chengriha’s connection to international drug trafficking, or the human and civil rights abuses in Algeria.
While some of Algeria’s Fake News stories about Morocco are ridiculous and juvenile, they continue to undermine the international community’s trust in Morocco. More than ever, Moroccans must maintain, protect, and preserve their cultural and political legacy before it is too late.
