Ethiopia Carrying Out Measures to Counter Information War: GCS

Addis Ababa, July 26, 2022 (FBC) – Government Communication Service disclosed that the information war that has been launched against Ethiopia is being deterred by the joint efforts of cyber Security Institutions and other entities in the country.

It is to be recalled that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in his recent briefing to the House of People’s Representative mentioned that Ethiopia has been countering the coordinated gray war orchestrated against the country.

The gray war, otherwise known as hybrid war, being carried out against Ethiopia includes cyber-attack, media campaign and information war as well as diplomatic pressures and conspiring to divide Ethiopians with a view to dragging the people in to conflict.

The Prime Minister had also indicated that in a bid to defend the cyber and media war launched against the country, the government will continue to boost its efforts to enforce the law.

Speaking with ENA, the Government Communication Service State Minister, Selamawit Kassa said that a strategy has been designed to fight the information war by distributing fast and accurate information to the people by employing technology. Enemies of Ethiopia are deliberately spreading fake information to create division and conflict among the people in a coordinated fashion with the aim of destroying the country, the State Minister noted.

Therefore, efforts are underway to deter the information war in collaboration with cyber Security institutions and other entities, she said.

In this regard, institutions such as Artificial Intelligence and Information Network Security (INSA) are working diligently, she added.

The Government Communication Service is also exerting efforts to deliver timely and accurate (verified) information to the wider public, she noted.

In a bid to effectively deter the information war, the government is using technology to conduct fact checking with a view to avoiding confusion among the people, she said, adding that the ministry is working jointly with other institutions in this regard.

The state minister also urged that the mass media organizations should be strengthened to counter the information war that has been launched against the country. In a bid to achieve this, it is necessary that media organizations strengthen their capacity, she said.