- An American wrongly asserts, and without source, that the President of Burkina Faso has banned the export of uranium to France.
- His message, which has been viewed more than five million times on Twitter, has been translated into French and posted on Facebook.
- There are no uranium mines in Burkina Faso, a neighboring country to Niger which is going through a political crisis.
Over five million views for a fake tweet. On Monday evening, Jackson Hinckle, a pro-Kremlin American, claimed on this social network that the President of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, has banned the export of uranium to France. An affirmation that echoes current events in Niger, a neighboring country of Burkina Faso, which has been going through a crisis and is a source of uranium for France.
This tweet was then taken up in French on Facebook, helping to spread the false information.
FAKE OFF
There is no record of such an announcement on the website of the presidency of Burkina Faso. And for good reason: the country has no uranium mines. According to the latest bulletin available from the country’s National Geological Service, gold, silver and zinc mines are exploited in Burkina Faso, but not uranium mines. Orano, the French giant that operates uranium mines around the world, operates deposits in neighboring Niger, but none in Burkina Faso.
For at least forty years, geologists in this West African country have wondered about the possible presence of the ore in the country. In 2018, the Minister of Mines announced the discovery of “traces”, but warned that “this does not mean that it [l’uranium] is in exploitable quantity, that there is a deposit”.
The presidencies of Burkina Faso and Mali Have brought on Monday their support for the putschists in Niger, denouncing the “illegal, illegitimate and inhuman sanctions” taken by the Economic Community of West African States and the West African Economic and Monetary Union against Niger.
An evacuation operation for French and European nationals is due to begin on Tuesday in Niamey, the capital of Niger. Demonstrators tried to enter the French embassy on Sunday, while soldiers overthrew Mohamed Bazoum, the elected president.
Mathilde Cousin
#France
