Ethiopia Recruits Bloggers to Attack Oppositions and the Eritrean Government

ESAT | June 7, 2014

Regime in Paranoia? From Jamming satellite transmissions, blocking websites, criminalise using Skype and arresting bloggers to recruiting paid online attackers and arresting bloggers to training paid social media recruits?

IN an attempt to reduce online criticisms and shower positive image of itself, the Ethiopian Government recently started to train and recruit paid attackers on the web to anything critical of its administration, the Ethiopian Satellite Television Service (ESAT) reported.

In the the second round of new recruits, 235 bloggers were trained in Adama town, focusing on how to shape public opinion on Facebook and other social media technologies by posting comments and documents that support the regime.

The training was given to selected people from different ethnic groups who support the regime, and that the trainees report directly to government officials, ESAT said.

So far, the trainees have opened 2,350 Facebook, Twitter and blog accounts to show the Ethiopian regime in a favorable light, and to criticize anti-government articles, websites, the Ethiopian opposition and the Eritrean government.

With a dismal one percent of people having access to the internet in Ethiopia, the likely intended target of the regime’s online strategy are the Ethiopian and Eritrean Diasporas, an observer noted.