President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire appeared publicly presiding over a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Abidjan, effectively putting to rest a wave of social media rumours suggesting a military coup was underway in the country.
The meeting brought together senior government officials and focused on key national issues including energy diversification and housing development.
The session was accompanied by official photographs released by the presidency, showing Ouattara seated with his ministers, clearly refuting online claims of a power grab or his assassination.
As the cabinet session proceeded, misinformation surged across platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter), with some posts falsely claiming that Army Chief General Lassina Doumbia had been killed and that internet services were shut down nationwide. One widely shared post even suggested the president had been assassinated, fuelling public alarm. By Wednesday afternoon, metrics showed nearly 10,000 users had engaged with content referencing the alleged coup.
Efforts to calm public fears followed swiftly. Christelle Kouamé, a journalist and member of the National Union of Journalists of Côte d’Ivoire, dismissed the rumours, asserting that the country remained stable.
“There is no coup in Côte d’Ivoire. The country is stable,” she said. Kouamé referenced the president’s recent public engagements, including the Africa CEO Forum and Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, as clear evidence that the state was functioning normally.
She also countered claims of internet blackouts: “It is fake news. People do what they want with the internet. But it is thanks to the internet that I speak to you.”
The false reports come amid heightened anxiety in West Africa, where several countries—Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Niger—have experienced military coups since 2020. The region remains on edge, and Côte d’Ivoire’s experience underscores the ease with which false information can undermine public confidence, even in relatively stable democracies.
The incident occurred just days ahead of the African Development Bank’s annual meetings in Abidjan, where a successor to the current AfDB president, Akinwumi Adesina, is expected to be elected.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Burkina Faso, tensions remain high after authorities last week announced they had foiled a major coup attempt aimed at toppling the ruling military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré. According to officials, the plot was uncovered after intelligence intercepted communications between a senior military officer and terrorist factions.
