Dear Somaliland Foreign Affairs Ministry,
As a Somalilander dedicated to put Somaliland on the map and render its enemies useless, I am compelled to inform you your reaction to a recently published fake article on Kenyamedia.net exposes the Ministry’s lack of judgment—knowing when to respond and when to ignore.
You may have come across countless articles that I have written about Somaliland, namely: “Why U.S Should Apprehend Dr. Ali Khalif Galaydh”, “Somaliland: If Eritrea & South Sudan Could Gain Sovereignty, So Could Somaliland”, “Iran, Israel’s Naval Bases, Somaliland’s Recognition: Port Berbera—Bargaining Chip” just to name a few.
Of course, the contents of these articles are not based on the usual Fadhi kudirir debates (arguing about clan politics at the coffee shops or in social media); rather, they are based on rigorous and time-consuming researches. And all efforts are made to debunk the false reports written about Somaliland and shed some light on Somaliland enemies’ deception as well as promote Somaliland’s quest for statehood. Now, if a layman like me could go through all the trouble to examine the sources and the authenticities of my references, it is fair to assume that the Somaliland Foreign Affairs Ministry could do a better job when it comes to dealing with disinformation and smear campaigns against Somaliland. But I am afraid the evidence suggests otherwise.
Coming back to the drawing board, the so-called article published on Kenyamedia site isn’t worth to be dignified with answers. And before a high-level Ministry like the Somaliland Foreign Affairs responds to such hearsay, nonsensical, regurgitated vomit-worth fallacies masqueraded as an op-ed article—I suggest that you conduct a little bit of investigation.
By responding to such a poorly written piece, essentially you are giving it a much needed credence. And they will come back with more rubbish, counting on your reaction.
The so-called article isn’t worth my time or anyone else’s to examine, but let’s dissect it to educate the unsuspecting masses, the captive audiences, shall we?
The “article” claims to be written by two investigative journalists, Peter Wolfson and Greta Backstrom. Well, for starters: what is investigative journalism? And here is the most elaborate answer that I could find. Clearly, after diving into the true meaning of “investigative journalism” you would conclude that the alleged writers don’t know diddlysquat about journalism much less write an investigative journal.
But in case if someone is still unconvinced, the first thing is to find out who the purported authors are—if they exist at all.
Within a few minutes of searching the internet, and the social media, about the identity of the alleged writers, Peter Wolfson and Greta Backstrom, I found out they don’t even exist much less write an article. So much for investigative journalists!
Moreover, with the exception of the phony Kenyamedia site and of course few Somali sites, no one else published this rubbish. Worse yet, it is baffling that the so-called investigative journalists didn’t provide a tinge of evidence: no links, no video clips, and no credible documents. Instead, the “article” quotes nameless—political figures, security analysts, conflict analysts, Western Intelligence agents and more important Jehovah Witness Intellectuals. Are they kidding me? Are the proofreaders of the Kenyamedia site dead? Listing nameless pundits doesn’t lend the “article” some credence. If anything, it exposes the authors’ blunders—making them the laughingstock of the year.
Also, the Somali regime which remains hostile towards Somaliland hasn’t stated what the fake article accuses of Somaliland. Nor Punland which usually respects no bounds when it comes verbally attacking Somaliland backs up the Kenyamedia story.
The site itself, Kenyamedia, probably has nothing to do with Kenya and its media. Instead, the website is owned and operated by the usual villains (Mindless Mooryaans (M&Ms)) that dedicate their energy and resources to attack Somaliland officials, and Somaliland privately owned financial companies such as Dahabshiil. Kenyamedia is just another WordPress site which any one can create on the fly. More about the site click here.
Upon close examinations, however, the site publishes more slandering articles against Dahabshiil and Somaliland than news about Kenya. So, what we possibly have is: another M&M site in disguise.
In the past, I have come across countless fabricated articles, for instance the one that alleges Robert Mugabe insulted the Kenyans or Eritrean men marry two wives or face jail but the Kenyamedia “article” takes the cake. Congratulations!
Genuine writers provide evidences to back up their claims. That is, they offer credible sources rather than quote nameless pundits. They uphold the pillars of good journalism. And to top it up, investigative journalists spend months if not years working on their stories, interview countless officials and subject-matter experts and spend substantial amount of time in the country of concern. So, fabricating news story out of thin air and calling it an “investigative journalism” should be amusing but Somaliland Foreign Affairs Ministry shouldn’t lent credence to fake writings.
In the near future, I strongly discourage the Somaliland Foreign Affairs Ministry to respond provocative bogus articles.
Dalmar Kaahin
