Senegal’s Fake News Law Crushed Dissent and Helped Elect a President
Bassirou Diomaye Faye took office in March after nearly a year in prison for allegedly spreading misinformation
A banner of Bassirou Diomaye Faye during a campaign rally in Dakar on March 10.
Photographer: John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images
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Before he became Senegal’s youngest-ever president one month ago, Bassirou Diomaye Faye had spent much of the previous year in jail.
The 44-year-old tax inspector and former secretary-general of Senegal’s main opposition party was arrested almost a year ago on charges of spreading fake news, after accusing judges in a Facebook post of carrying out the political agenda of then-president Macky Sall. Faye spent 11 months in detainment before being released ten days before the March 24 vote.