CLAIM: Zimbabwe ranked third most internet censor in the World.
SOURCE: NewZimbabwe.com/NewsDay
VERDICT: MISLEADING: This is a misreading of a report by cybersecurity company, Surfshark. The report does not have any country ranking of internet censorship
On February 23rd, news websites NewZimbabwe and NewsDay published an article headlined “Zim ranked third most internet censor in the World”.
The websites reported: “Zimbabwe has been ranked among the world’s three countries with the most restrictive social media policies, especially during elections.”
However, the Surfshark report cited by the website has no mention of Zimbabwe being third in the world. There is also no listing of countries by censorship.
The news outlets appear to have misread a statement in the report, in which Surfshark says reported internet disruption at a recent rally of the Citizens Coalition for Change was “the third internet disruption incident in Africa this year, after events in Burkina Faso”.
Surfshark however outlined one of the major reasons why most states shut down their internet and of which Zimbabwe is not spared.
Other countries in the most recent internet censorship list include Burkina Faso (January 23), Lebanon (January 18), Burkina Faso (January 10), Kazakhstan (January 4), and Iran (November 25, 2021) among other countries. Burkina Faso appears more often on the list because of political instability in the West African country.
CONCLUSION
An article published on the NewZimbabwe and NewsDay websites claiming that Surfshark ranked Zimbabwe the “third most internet censor in the world” is an inaccurate reading of the cybersecurity firm’s report. The report only lists recent reports of internet disruptions and has no country rankings.
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