Conclusion
Since the democratisation of Africa following the Windhoek Declaration in Namibia and the Baule speech in the early 1990s, the practice of journalism has been a major challenge throughout the African continent. The repeated upheavals that the Central African Republic is constantly experiencing make it difficult for media professionals to carry out their work independently.
With the advent of digital technologies, particularly social networks, Central Africans are increasingly turning online to get information in real time, while the absence of a law to regulate the sector could lead to the dissemination of false news and hate speech. However, radio remains the most important mass media. Thanks to it, people living in the most remote areas of the country can obtain information.
Ranked 145th in the 2019 Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, press freedom is still a matter of concern in the CAR. As previously explained, the lack of electricity networks in the country is a major obstacle for Central Africans to access information. Yet, the rise of connected mobile networks has allowed audiences to free themselves from the dominant current of communication. For example, WhatsApp alone could become a preferred digital communication platform in the coming years due to persistent rumours about telephone line piracy by the country’s authorities.