Burkina Faso has suspended the French broadcaster TV5 for six months, accusing it of spreading “disinformation,” according to authorities.
The communications regulator, CSC, accused TV5 of disseminating “malicious insinuations” and “disinformation” regarding the country’s transitional government.
This suspension follows earlier actions by the CSC against French newspaper Le Monde, British publication The Guardian, and German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).
On Tuesday, the CSC also imposed a fine of 50 million CFA francs ($82,000) on TV5. The regulator criticised TV5 for hosting Newton Ahmed Barry, a known critic of the military regime who led the election commission from 2014 to 2021.
TV5 had previously been suspended on April 28 for two weeks after airing a report by Human Rights Watch, which accused the military of killing civilians.
Since Captain Ibrahim Traore seized power in Burkina Faso in a coup in September 2022, multiple foreign news outlets, predominantly French, have faced temporary or indefinite closures.
