Since Tuesday, the French television channel TV5 Monde has been banned from broadcasting in Burkina Faso for “disinformation” and “praise of terrorism,” in its handling of terrorist attacks in this country and in neighboring Mali, an ally of Ouagadougou.
The Burkinabè had already temporarily suspended TV5 Monde on two occasions, in April and June 2024.
The CSC regards TV5 Monde as “an accomplice to the praise of terrorist acts and to a destabilization campaign against Malian institutions, and, consequently, against the space of the Alliance of Sahel States.”
In its decision on Tuesday, the CSC accuses TV5 Monde of “disinformation aimed at tarnishing the image of the Burkinabè army and frightening the population,” and “to demoralize the Defence and Security Forces (FDS) and the VDP, the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland, the army’s civilian auxiliaries.”
The CSC notably accuses the channel of having “recourse to amateur images to illustrate its narratives, without ensuring their credibility and by emphasizing the alleged prowess of the terrorist groups.”
TV5 Monde has also been suspended in Mali since May 2025 “until further notice,” after authorities reproached it for a lack of impartiality regarding an opposition protest.
“The offenses committed, which concern disinformation and the praise of terrorism, were noted in several editions of the televised news program, from April to May 2026,” detailed the CSC.
