ETHIOMEDIA.COM CELEBRATED FOR MISINFORMATION By Mathza August 23, 2006 Ethiomedia undeservingly calls its website “ Ethiopia ’s Premier News and Views Website.” Such a slogan is far-off from describing the true nature of the website. On the contrary, Ethiomedia is known for its lies, misinformation, etc. Almost all of its editorials, commentaries and articles posted on its website are negative and totally against the incumbent government. It serves as a mouthpiece and channel for the oppositions and their gullible supporters. Its mission is to destroy the good names and deny the achievements of the Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his government. The editor’s hate of the Prime Minister has no limits. He did and does anything to obliterate him. Although Ethiomedia tops them all, lying is the signature mark of practically all oppositions and their supporters and the private media and the press. It is rampant. Many of the lies are “bere wolde.” It is sad that the liars have no qualms of lying. They have no feeling of shame as any normal person would have. The most recent example of lies of Ethiomedia.com (August 3 or 4) had to do with attributing one of the VOA listeners’—a certain Berhanu—comments to that of the Prime Minister. This allegation disappeared from the website within a couple of days. There could be a number of reasons for this. One could be the intervention of a virtuous member of Ethiomedia staff who has some sense not to allow such a lie goes. Another, the more likely one, is advice by VOA Amharic program administration. The administration can trace where Berhanu’s call originated from. This way, VOA can rule out that the caller could not have been the Prime Minister who was alleged to have made the comment ascribed to him by Ethiomedia. A similar accusation was leveled at the Prime Minister in 2004. Immediately following the appearance of my article, OPPOSITIONS DURING EPRDF ETHIOPIA : POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY*, on the internet in April 2004, Ethiomedia hurried to allege that the article was authored by the Prime Minister and that the Amharic version was published by Abyotawi Democracy. Both were pure lies. I responded** to the lies and challenged Ethiomedia as well as Finote Radio which run over five minutes commentary on the article to substantiate their lies. For obvious reason none of them responded. The oppositions and supporters who exploit Ethiomedia heap all kinds of superlatives on it. In recognition of its unreserved and subservient services to the causes of the opposition, on 10/23/05 the Ethiopian Seattle residents honored it with the 2005 Best Website Award for an “outstanding performance on Ethiopian news and views.” Nine months after the above award, another forthcoming event to inflate Ethiomedia was announced on 08/04/06. In an article titled “ Seattle to celebrate Ethiomedia Day August 13th” the exploiters claimed that the website was “accurate and dependable… most Ethiopians rate Ethiomedia as a dependable and powerful media.” Advertising of the event continued until the big day, August 13th. The Ethiomedia Blog, specifically created to solicit public support for the occasion, carried dozens of congratulatory, supportive and exalting messages from individuals, Addis Voice and UEDF. The Ethiomedia Day came and passed. Except for indications in “With love to Ethiomedia…” by the guest of honor there is no report on the website on the event. It is odd for Ethiomedia to have advertised the celebration so much in advance and yet have kept complete silence post the celebration day. Is such a silence due to unfulfilled expectations? It is apparent that the celebration was intended to inflate the ego of the editor. It is nothing but “doron siatal’lwat …” and is meant to encourage and pressure him to intensify doing the dirty work of the die-hards: lies, misinformation, spinning, character assassination, defamation, ethnic hatred, ethnic antagonisms, etc. There was no need to waste time and money targeted at coaxing him as he is obsessed with unrelenting grudge and extreme hatred against the Prime Minister. He does not have an iota of decency. As the readers will have noticed, my intention in this writing is to expose the lying component of Ethiomedia, one of the many components of which it is culpable. I would like to close by some quotations from "A free ride on Ethiomedia" by one of the congratulators in the blog referred to above in regard to some of the other components. The congratulator asserted that the editor had shamelessly allowed anti-Ethiopian elements and groups “to strike hard on our dearly held values of unity in diversity on your very website…Reports and views featured on your website have openly called for an all out civil war and a grinding halt to humanitarian and development assistance to our country.” It is apparent that the editor does not care about the consequences of his writings and the support and access he renders to separatist and ant-Ethiopian elements and groups on his website. He is in effect shamefully instigating and encouraging instability in and the disintegration of Ethiopia . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.aigaforum.com/mathza0403.htm and www.aigaforum.com/mathza0404.htm http://www.aigaforum.com/mathza-response.htm http://www.aigaforum.com/mathza04-09.htm http://www.ethioobserver.net/ethiomedia.htm Home