Share this article

The Uganda Communications Commission has initiated a nationwide crackdown on unscrupulous and immoral online media houses. This move aims to protect Ugandans from scammers posing as journalists. The UCC will impose regulatory sanctions on non-professional outlets that fabricate damaging stories for blackmail purposes.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has initiated a nationwide crackdown against what it terms as unscrupulous and immoral online media houses. According to UCC, this move is intended to protect Ugandans from scammers masquerading as journalists.

UCC, a government entity responsible for licensing, monitoring, and regulating online media services, announced the crackdown on non-professional online media outlets in a recent public notice. UCC Executive Director, Nyombi Tembo, highlighted that numerous emerging online publications in Uganda manipulate, concoct, and fabricate damaging conspiracy stories against individuals, particularly those in business, industry, and political offices, for blackmail purposes.

Nyombi disclosed that several complaints received by UCC indicate that some unscrupulous online publications attempt to coerce their victims into negotiations to delete damaging content from their websites in exchange for a ransom. “As a regulator, we are stating that this must stop,” Nyombi insisted.

Nyombi emphasized that UCC’s punitive actions aim to curb the troubling trend where cyber-related scams have become a career opportunity for many unethical and fraudulent Ugandan pseudo-publishers hiding behind the journalism profession. He explained that these individuals register online news outlets without obtaining licenses from the regulator, intending to produce fake and damaging content about innocent people, which they then share with the public to extort money from their victims.

Nyombi added, “They subscribe to international news aggregators like Opera, Medium, and AllAfrica, among others, which have a significant global presence. These aggregators facilitate the dissemination of unverified content worldwide in real-time, as authentication is not required by these international platforms. Scammers take advantage of this and post unverified, unauthentic, concocted, baseless, and unfounded information.”

The UCC head insisted that they will not stand by and watch as these unethical outlets degrade society, adding that the strong stance aims to protect professionals operating digital platforms. Initial research indicates that fraudsters who pose as journalism professionals lack a background in journalism, physical offices, editorial policies, professional staff, and equipment, relying solely on smartphones to manage their cyber-attacks.

Nyombi explained that some scammers collaborate to plan their next targets, often targeting high-value individuals and companies. For individuals, they thoroughly research personal and private lifestyles, preferring to target those who avoid the limelight. They also investigate conflicts between wealthy individuals, approaching one party to be hired to destroy the opponent using their unethical websites. Once a deal is made, the scammers begin a sustained campaign of fake and concocted stories against the other person, turning this into a profitable business known as ‘okukuwalanilako.’

For high-profile companies, scammers create fake stories that could damage the company’s reputation, structuring sensational fake headlines to intimidate the targeted company into paying to have the story removed. Construction companies involved in international bidding are also targets, as competing companies sponsor fake websites to spread misinformation about their competitors, potentially influencing funders’ due diligence processes.

Nyombi emphasized that UCC will not allow professional media in Uganda to be hijacked by fraudsters and conmen, stating that regulators cannot sit back and watch. Any online publishers broadcasting content that contravenes broadcasting standards as per the UCC Act and regulations will face regulatory sanctions, including suspension or revocation of their licenses and criminal prosecution for offenses such as publication of prohibited content, criminal libel, and malicious information.

Mark Odongo, the Deputy Director of the Police Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID), confirmed that the CID is closely working with UCC and other state agencies to bring unprofessional practitioners to justice. According to the 2023 Uganda Police Crime Report, crimes involving technology for fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, and scams exceeded 245 cases.

Cyber-attacks have significant cost implications not only for individuals and companies but also for global economies. Cyber Security Ventures predicts that the global cost of cyber-attacks will reach $9.5 trillion in 2024.

Dr. Innocent Nahabwe, Chairperson of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), welcomed the crackdown as long overdue, insisting that UCC’s stringent actions will protect professional publishers from vicarious liability. He stated, “UCC is right and justified. As NAB, we do not condone these wrongdoings because it is blackmail. These are not journalists, but fraudsters hiding behind our profession to discredit it,” adding that professionals doing a good job should not be uncomfortable with regulation done in good faith. However, he cautioned UCC not to interfere with freedom of expression.

UCC estimates that over 150 online-only publishing websites have been established in Uganda in the last five years. Most of these lack proper structure, gatekeeping, and professional journalistic standards, allowing unscrupulous individuals to create fraud and blackmail schemes. Many of these websites have not registered for licensing by UCC and have not filed details of their editors with the Government Media Council under the Ministry of ICT.