WARSAME DIGITAL MEDIA (WDM) CRITIQUE
The latest flurry of allegations circulated by partisan outlets and amplified by Turkish internet bots reeks of desperation — not journalism. What we are witnessing is a deliberate campaign orchestrated by Villa Somalia’s propaganda machine, designed to deflect from its own humiliating political and military failures in Jubaland and the catastrophic collapse of its SSC-Khaatumo project.
1. The Anatomy of Manufactured Scandal
Middle East Eye’s so-called “exclusive” exposé on Puntland is built on sand — anonymous sources, unverifiable claims, and selective omissions.
Key accusations rely on pseudonymous witnesses whose identities and motives remain hidden. The excuse of “safety” may sound noble, but it conveniently shields fabricators from accountability. Journalism without verifiable sourcing is gossip with grammar.
No shipping manifests. No photographic evidence. No neutral corroboration. Just a string of conjectures recycled from Mogadishu’s rumor mill and dressed up as investigative reporting. Even the report itself admits its one-sidedness: no official comment from UAE or Puntland — not because they are guilty, but because the so-called journalists never intended to verify anything that contradicted their pre-written narrative.
2. Villa Somalia’s Fingerprints Are All Over It
This propaganda was not born in London or Dubai — it was conceived in the shadowy backrooms of Villa Somalia, the same regime that:
Failed to defeat Ahmed Madobe in Jubaland despite lavish funding and Turkish training;
Watched its SSC-Khaatumo puppet project implode in disarray;
Lost the political narrative in Puntland, where state institutions remain intact, independent, and defiant.
Unable to impose its will through diplomacy or force, Villa Somalia resorts to information warfare — planting fake “investigations,” mobilizing Turkish and Qatari social media troll networks, and manipulating Middle Eastern media houses desperate for regional clicks.
And here lies the hypocrisy: if they have any facts on these allegations, why can’t these internet trolls, partisans, and the Damul-Jadiid administration challenge the UAE directly on their so-called findings? Because they know the allegations are hollow — and they believe they can intimidate Puntland into folding under Villa Somalia’s whims. Puntland will not bend. Not to propaganda. Not to political blackmail.
3. The Real Target: Puntland’s Sovereignty
The campaign’s goal is transparent — to delegitimize Puntland’s government, tarnish its partnership with regional allies, and paint it as a “rogue state.” This aligns perfectly with Mogadishu’s broader Damul-Jadiid playbook: weaken the federal states, isolate their leadership, and centralize power around a corrupt and unpopular presidency.
But Puntland’s record speaks louder than propaganda:
It remains Somalia’s most stable and functional regional administration.
It has upheld electoral processes, fiscal discipline, and regional security.
It continues to be the last functional counterweight to Villa Somalia’s authoritarian drift.
The irony is bitter — a government that can’t control one street in Mogadishu lectures Puntland about “foreign meddling.”
4. A Note on Middle East Eye’s “Editorial Line”
MEE has every right to question Gulf policies — but when it echoes Mogadishu’s talking points without cross-checking facts, it becomes complicit in a disinformation war. Its reputation as a critic of Gulf interventionism may serve ideological agendas, but it does not excuse the abandonment of journalistic ethics.
Real journalism demands verification, not regurgitation.
5. The Puntland Response
Puntland owes no apology for cooperating with regional and international partners in pursuit of its own economic and security interests.
It does not need permission from a discredited federal administration that survives on donor stipends and foreign guards. The real scandal is not in Bosaso’s airport — it is in Mogadishu’s palace, where national sovereignty is traded for political survival.
In Conclusion
This latest smear is not investigative journalism — it’s psychological warfare by a nervous regime facing the ruins of its regional projects. Puntland stands unshaken. Let Villa Somalia’s trolls type; Puntland will continue to build, govern, and lead.
——
Support WDM — the home of fearless, independent journalism that speaks truth to power across Somalia and the region.
Tel/WhatsApp: +252 90 703 4081.
WDM 