Brandjack News

By Quentin Langley

Richard Nixon famously declared "I am not a crook" when that, precise, allegation had never been made. Football club chairmen often declare full confidence in the manager or coach days or hours before forcing them out. Denying something that has not been alleged can often lead people to conclude the exact opposite of that which you, seemingly, want them to.

So, when a President declares on Twitter that he has not been forced out in a coup, no-one was likely to interpret this as meaning that either the President or the country was doing well. Unsurprisingly, the President of Mali's announcement seems to have been only temporarily true, if it ever was. At the time of writing, the state broadcaster seems to be under the control of people described in the media as 'renegade soldiers'. While it is a little early to form a judgement about the organisers of the coup, Mali before the coup was rated by Freedom House as being a free country with a free press.

However regrettable a military coup against an elected government, the story being officially denied on Twitter is a significant milestone in the growth of social media in politics.