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In the context of the current anti-government protests in #Bamako, it is key to consider the performative role of rumour (and disinformation) in the politics of contestation. This morning I woke up to the following rumours: 1) Soumaila Cissé is dead; 2) IBK and his family 1/n
are hiding out in MINUSMA's compound; 3) rumours that Malian police have entered into the Gabriel Toure hospital to tear-gass sick patients; 4) that several leaders of the CMAS sociopolitical movement. These rumours (many of which have been disproven) have a political effect 2/n
Rumours spread and are used in times of political uncertainty to mobilize for contestation; to discredit adversaries (see Gavelle et. al. 2013 https://www.cairn.info/revue-politique-africaine-2013-2-page-23.htm); and to consolidate a sense of belonging and establish order and meaning in one's life. Rumours 3/n
The problem is that rumours are often inflammatory (whether the people sharing them know this is the case or not). In the context of #Mali's sociopolitical crisis, such rumours could spark an overt use of martial force by the state's institutionally-divided security forces. 4/n
In this highly-charged environment, vulnerable groups in Bamako could be targeted as scape-goats, like what occurred in 2012 when Tuareg families' homes were burned by rioters blaming them for the northern rebellion. Rumours can enhance the volatility of protests, even as 5/n
efforts are made to 'set the record straight'. What is certain, rumours only take on their performative force when they perceived as plausible and credible - meaning that context matters. The fact that rumours are spreading of Malian police tear-gassing a hospital is because 6/n
the vast majority of Malians do not trust the security forces and find them to be a tool of regime security instead of public/citizens security. The regime used counter-terrorist units (FORSAT) to quash riots in Sikasso following the legislative elections. FORSAT is reported 7/n
to have been used this morning to raid the central offices of the CMAS. Rumours are more likely to be believed if they resonate with previous historical narratives previously heard from other credible sources (usually close friends). See https://academic.oup.com/isq/article-abstract/61/3/660/4557058 8/n
International actors have to carefully weigh their words in such rumour-saturated contexts. They need to grapple with the meaning of rumour narratives as much as they try to establish empirical truth of 'what events have happened'. 9/n
I demonstrate how some intervening actors in #Mali have dealt with rumours in the context of the multidimensional crisis in a recent article with @IAJournal_CH. https://academic.oup.com/ia/article-abstract/96/4/913/5866433 10/n
