Chine Nouvelle, a Chinese news agency, wants to contribute to the digital transformation of the Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP). Last week, during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, Fu Hua, President of Chine Nouvelle, renewed this commitment to ACP Director General Bienvenu-Marie Bakumanya, stressing the importance of strengthening media ties between China and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The partnership announcement comes amidst major challenges facing Congolese media outlets, especially the ACP. Such challenges include upgrading infrastructures and integrating new technologies. 

According to the ACP chief, Bienvenu-Marie Bakumanya, the ACP must shift to digital if it wants to "stay relevant in a global landscape where information is disseminated at great speed, notably via digital platforms".

Chine Nouvelle’s support will help the ACP produce and distribute news in a more modern way. This collaboration could also stimulate cultural and media exchanges between China and the DRC. "Our two people don't know each other well enough. Our media must collaborate to enable better mutual understanding between the Congolese and the Chinese,” Bakumanya, ACP’s boss said.

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The Democratic Republic of Congo is in talks with a Chinese company about a social network monitoring system. On September 4, 2024, Augustin Kibassa Maliba, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Digital, signed a memorandum of understanding to this effect in Beijing, at the DRC embassy in China, on the sidelines of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum.

Although the Congolese government did not provide further details about this non-legally binding agreement, the system may help authorities manage and regulate online content in the DRC. Faced with the resurgence of disinformation, hate speech, and other illicit content on social media, the government could leverage the system to stop activities likely to undermine national security and social cohesion.

The DRC’s socio-political context is currently marked by armed tensions with the M23 rebels in the east, friction with Rwanda, and a monkeypox epidemic. These create fertile ground for fake news and propaganda. Claims that a digital army is working to destabilize the country are multiplying on social networks. An analysis note from CIPESA deplores this information war, which it deems "characterized by a spiral of incitement, disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech" that "undermines cohesion between communities".

According to DataReportal, the DRC registered 6.45 million active user identities on social networks in January 2024, representing growth of 37.2% or 1.8 million new users between January 2023 and January 2024. 37.2% of social media users in the DRC were women, while 62.8% were men. All these users subscribed to Facebook; 4.44 million to TikTok; 1.15 million to Messenger; almost 670,000 to Instagram; 620,000 to LinkedIn and 253,000 to X.

In many African countries, including the DRC, social media play an important role in everyday life. But they also raise increasingly complex ethical challenges, requiring urgent attention. Striking the right balance between defending freedom of speech and tackling online abuses is the puzzle most countries on the continent seek to solve. 

Muriel Edjo