Sabahionline.com looks, at first glance, like an African news website. It has what appear to be authentic news stories, as well as a glossy
design. But as it turns out, the site isn?t run by African journalists. It?s run by the U.S. military.
Sabahionline is one of several African propaganda news sites set up by the U.S. military?s AFRICOM operation, designed to make African readers more friendly to U.S. policies. The operation is also designed to counter Islamic extremists in Somalia and elsewhere.
Omar Faruk Osman, the secretary general of the National Union of Somali Journalists, said Sabahi is the first website of it?s kind that he?s seen.
?We have seen portal services by al-Shabab for hate and for propaganda, for spreading violence. We are used to seeing that. In contrast we have not seen such news sites before. So it is something completely unique,? Osman said.
?The U.S. government and military say the purpose of the fake sites are to counter extremism ?by offering accurate, balanced and forward-looking coverage of developments in the region.?
The U.S. military?s African news sites report news with an anti-terror slant.
?The Internet is a big place, and we are one of many websites out there. Our site aims to provide a moderate voice in contrast to the numerous violent extremist websites,? wrote the creators of the site in a statement from AFRICOM.
The site averages 4,000 unique visitors per day.
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