The Weaponization of Misinformation: How the DRC and the West Are Undermining Truth, Stability, and Rwanda’s Integrity

For centuries, wars were fought with guns and bombs. Today, they are fought with narratives, deception, and carefully manufactured falsehoods. No country has mastered this dark art better than the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), whose government has institutionalized misinformation as a tool of governance. Rather than addressing its internal failures—rampant corruption, economic decay, ethnic violence, and an army incapable of securing its own borders—Kinshasa has chosen a more convenient path: fabricating stories, scapegoating Rwanda, and manipulating global opinion.

The international community, particularly Western powers and their media outlets, have not only tolerated this deception but actively amplified it. Instead of scrutinizing Kinshasa’s blatant lies, they spread them further. The United Nations, a body meant to uphold truth and justice, now publishes unverified reports that fuel conflicts rather than resolve them. European governments, once vocal about democracy and human rights, now endorse falsehoods when it suits their geopolitical interests.

But Rwanda refuses to play this game. Unlike those who bend the truth for short-term gain, Rwanda has built its reputation on integrity, transparency, and keeping its word—values that President Paul Kagame has instilled not only in Rwanda’s governance but also in its foreign policy.

The DRC’s Web of Lies: Manufactured Crises and International Deception

President Félix Tshisekedi, backed by his Foreign Minister, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, and government spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya, has turned deception into an official state strategy. Their objective is simple: mask the DRC’s deep-rooted governance failures by painting Rwanda as the enemy.

It’s an old tactic—when a leader is drowning in incompetence, find a villain. The DRC’s security apparatus is in shambles, its military, FARDC, partners with genocidal groups like the FDLR—responsible for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Its economy is in ruins, its institutions are corrupt, and yet, rather than owning up to these crises, Kinshasa chooses propaganda as its main weapon.

Look at their long list of falsehoods. In 2023, the DRC accused Rwanda of planning a large-scale invasion. Tshisekedi stood before the UN General Assembly and made the claim, providing no evidence. Western media ran with it anyway. In August 2022, Kinshasa claimed Rwanda had bombed a school in Bukavu. No investigation, no proof—yet the world accepted the accusation. In November 2023, Congolese state television broadcast footage of “captured Rwandan soldiers,” only for it to later emerge that these were ordinary Congolese civilians forced into military uniforms.

And then comes the biggest lie of them all—that Rwanda is plundering DRC’s minerals. If Rwanda is stealing Congo’s wealth, then why does it still receive foreign aid? What does foreign aid even do in Rwanda if, according to Kinshasa’s absurd claims, Rwanda has access to Congo’s vast mineral resources? The same Western countries that spread these falsehoods are the ones threatening to cut aid to Rwanda. Why would Rwanda need aid if it controls a resource-rich territory? This contradiction is disturbingly outrageous.

Rwanda is still one of the world’s poorest countries. Where do the so-called proceeds from stolen minerals go? Those who make these outlandish accusations don’t even bother to provide evidence. If we are to point fingers, then the Western world should be the first to be blamed. Every electric and electronic device that fetches billions of dollars on the global market sources minerals from Congo, yet Congolese communities remain destitute. And at what cost? Almost nothing. So who is the real thief?

The Consequences of Misinformation: A Threat to Stability and Progress

Misinformation is not just an inconvenience; it is a direct threat to peace and stability. Rwanda has long recognized that disinformation is as destructive as conventional war. Speaking at the 2023 Peacekeeping Ministerial on Protection of Civilians and Strategic Communications, Rwanda’s Minister of Defence, Juvenal Marizamunda, issued a grave warning:

“These challenges are particularly acute with respect to the core task of protecting civilians in a context where disinformation, misinformation, and hate speech are being propagated faster than ever through social media platforms. No single peacekeeping mission is free from these threats.”

Falsehoods fuel violence. In the DRC, misinformation has led to the ethnic cleansing of Congolese Tutsi communities. Women raped, homes burned, entire families slaughtered. The world saw the images of massacres, yet international organizations act as if these atrocities never happened. Their cattle, symbols of their identity and survival, were shot, chopped up, and eaten by mobs.

Didn’t the world see the slaughter of the Banyamulenge’s cows? Hasn’t the evidence of these communities being massacred been plastered across the internet? What amount of misinformation can erase this outrageous fact? What has gone wrong with the world today? Morality has been overthrown. Integrity has been discarded. Shameless behavior has triumphed over truth.

And yet, Rwanda is being crucified. Not for doing wrong, but for being a “bad influence”—a bad teacher. Rwanda’s sin? Encouraging African leaders to reject neocolonial policies and stand on their own. The world wants Rwanda to be like every other failed state in Africa, struggling, dependent, and submissive. But Rwanda has chosen a different path. And for that, it must be punished.

BBC’s Role in the Anti-Rwanda Narrative

The Western media plays a crucial role in this grand deception, and the BBC has been particularly aggressive in attacking the M23 movement. It has repeatedly pushed allegations of war crimes, presenting them as undeniable facts. But where is the same scrutiny for the Congolese government? How come the BBC has not interrogated FARDC’s massacres in eastern DRC? Why has it not questioned the Congolese government’s arming of Wazalendo and FDLR militia groups, which commit barbaric crimes against Congolese Tutsis?

The BBC is not seeking justice—it is shaping a one-sided narrative that ignores the atrocities committed by Kinshasa’s forces. It does not exonerate M23 from responsibility, but the selective outrage is telling. This is not journalism; this is propaganda.

President Paul Kagame: A Leader Who Exposes Global Hypocrisy

President Paul Kagame has never been afraid to speak the truth. He has called out the contradictions of the international system time and again. He has pointed out how Western nations justify wrongdoing under the excuse of “national interests.” As he once put it:

“People justify wrongdoing because it serves their interests. The problem is not that the world operates on interests; it’s that they justify things they know are wrong because it serves them.”

Kagame’s stance has been consistent. When the same countries that preach democracy endorse dictatorship in the DRC, when they reward fabricated reports with diplomatic action, when they allow media outlets to function as tools of propaganda, they reveal their hypocrisy.

Unlike the DRC, Rwanda does not fabricate accusations. It does not manufacture stories to suit its agenda. Rwanda believes in facts. Truth is not just a principle—it is a virtue, deeply embedded in Rwandan identity. Lies may serve short-term political interests, but they destroy societies in the long run.

Yet, Rwanda is vilified. The world demands that Rwanda remain silent while falsehoods dictate policy. But Rwanda will not be silent.

Rwanda’s government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, does not fabricate stories. Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe does not make baseless allegations. Rwanda’s Ambassador to the UN does not stand before the world and lie, unlike Tshisekedi and his allies. Rwanda argues from a factual standpoint, refusing to engage in the deception that has become the global norm. The truth remains Rwanda’s strongest weapon, and no amount of propaganda will change that.