On Sunday, 13 September, at least three journalists and three media outlets reported they were affected by a fake memorialization campaign, account suspensions and content removals, leaving their platforms inaccessible to their audiences.

According to exiled journalist Zakariye Mohamud Timacadde, his Facebook page, Zakariye Timacadde which has more than one million followers, was suspended around midnight on Sunday. He said he did not receive any notification or explanation from Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

In his recent reporting, Zakariye published stories on forced evictions in Mogadishu that have affected hundreds of thousands of families, as well as a report on rising water prices charged by local companies in Mogadishu, which has affected local communities. These reports can not be viewed as of Monday as Zakariye’s page remains "unavailable".

Zakariye told SJS that when he woke up on Monday morning, he found that both his Facebook page and personal profile had been suspended. His page remained unpublished as of Monday morning.

"I did nothing wrong and I got no response from Meta,” Zakariye told SJS.

Similarly, Farah Abdulkadir Mohamed, a prominent journalist told SJS that his personal Facebook account, which has more than 330,000 followers, had been memorialized without any notification.

When SJS reviewed Farah’s account, it displayed the message: "We hope that people who love Farah will find comfort in visiting his profile to remember and celebrate his life.”

Memorialization is a feature used on Facebook when an account holder is reported to have died. In Farah’s case, however, he is alive and said he was shocked and confused that Meta had placed a message on his account suggesting that he "had passed away”.

Like Zakariye, Farah lives in exile and relies on Facebook to remain connected with family members and relatives in Somalia.

"It is difficult when you are sleeping at midnight, and Meta puts a message that says you have passed away. Far from where I live, family members who did not know what happened could see this message, believe it was real and start crying,” Farah said.

He said that when he woke up, he had received hundreds of calls and messages on WhatsApp from friends and relatives who had seen the memorialization message and were concerned about his wellbeing.

"I had to explain to everyone that I am alive. But most importantly, my Facebook page, where I should have posted to tell people that I am okay, is still showing the message that I had passed away,” Farah said.

His page was reinstated on Monday but no explanation was provided by Meta, Farah said.

Gaylan Media, a diaspora-based Somali media outlet founded by Farah Abdulkadir and followed by more than 1.2 million people on Facebook, was also removed from the platform.

"This content isn’t available at the moment,” a message displayed when users attempted to access the Gaylan Media page.

It is not clear why Meta removed the Gaylan Media account or what prompted the decision. However it followed a week after a wave of fake copyright claims were targeted with their platform as SJS had reported recently.

Gaylan Media is known for its critical analysis and reporting for Somali audiences, frequently covering security and political affairs. One of its recent reports examined how, four years into President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s administration, Somalia continues to "struggle with the threat posed by Al-Shabaab militants” amid renewed fighting between government forces and the group in Basra, a town approximately 45 kilometres outside Mogadishu. Farah’s latest reports are currently unavailable on Facebook but can be viewed on YouTube.

Both the Gaylan Media and Zakariye Timacadde Facebook pages remained unavailable as of Monday morning.

The incidents followed another case involving the memorialization of a Somali journalist’s Facebook account.

On Saturday, 12 September, the Facebook page of Somali journalist Abdijaliil Osman, which has approximately 191,000 followers, was memorialized, effectively indicating to users that he had died.

When SJS contacted Abdijaliil, who lives in London, he said he woke up on Saturday morning to discover that Facebook had reported his death without notifying him, shocking his family and relatives in Africa.

Although his page has since been restored and the memorialization removed, he said he had received no explanation for what happened or who initiated the report.

"I actually do not have an idea who did this,” Abdijaliil told SJS.

Abdijalil runs a YouTube and Facebook programme known as "Abdijaliil Show,” which frequently features in-depth interviews with experts on a wide range of topics, from politics to social affairs. One of his recent interviews featured a popular Somali rap singer and a former Somali refugee who has become a successful warehouse employee in the U.S.

Similar fake copyright claims also targeted accounts of the SJS press freedom team last week.

Himilo Media’s content removed

Himilo Media in Mogadishu has faced a wave of fake copyright claims specifically targeting video reports about local protests against Turkish airstrikes in Somalia, which have occurred in various towns in Jubaland and Southwest State.

Ahmed Mohamed Aden, one of the editors of Himilo Media, told SJS that in the last week alone, more than 12 news reports covering local communities’ criticism of Turkish involvement in Somalia were specifically targeted with fake copyright claims.

"Almost all the claims targeted content that was critical of Turkey, resulting in the content being removed by Meta even though we disputed the claim and provided explanation,” Ahmed told SJS.

According to reviews of screenshots made by SJS, the claims against Himilo Media were made through Facebook’s copyright system. When the Himilo Media team disputed the claims, they were often met with counter-rejections, resulting in their content being removed.

Almost all of the claims targeting Himilo Media were made by someone using the name "The Odyssey” and the email address [email protected]. Other offenders have used the names "SACEM” and "Electrician USA,” using the email address abrahammakevilqureshi.

SJS’s investigation found that the accounts making the fake claims have no apparent online presence even though they claim to be "content creator” through Facebook’s claims seen by SJS. One striking abuse that SJS reviewers had seen is the use of "trafficked rights manager access” which involves transferring or selling authorized platform access to another party.

SJS contacted one of these abusers who used the name "The Odyssey”. Using under cover reporter’s identity, SJS asked how much he would charge to carry out such an attack. He did not hesitate to demand USD 5,000 to target a media organization through a dubious fake copyright claim. "The Odyssey” which spoke Somali language also claimed that he does "communication work for the Somali government”.

In another development, the Facebook page associated with Puntland President Said Abdullahi Deni was also removed.

China and Turkey sponsored strategic communications conferences

The attacks on Somali media coincide with a week after a Chinese-sponsored so-called Strategic Communications Forum was held in Mogadishu. Just prior to this conference, sources told SJS that Chinese entities invited Somali individuals to train and tour in China, including at a centre run by the Chinese Communist Party.

On 7 September, Kaab TV, an online news media in Mogadishu reported that they "witnessed a wave of attacks targeting our reports on public protests against Turkey and a press conference by Somali MPs denouncing Turkish influence in Somalia”.

On 7 September, Somalia Minister of Information Abdifatah Qasim stated: "We have also strengthened efforts to counter terrorist propaganda on social media. As a result of these efforts, the number of social media accounts subjected to action increased from 5,000 in 2012 to 82,000 in 2026.” He has never publicly presented which accounts were disabled.

On 12 September, Somalia’s Ministry of Information announced plans to hold a Turkish-sponsored Strategic Communications Conference in Mogadishu. The Minister of Information also stated that he had met with the "Deniz Demir, Coordinator of the Countering Disinformation & Fake News Center at the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of Türkiye.”

In a statement on X, the Ministry of Information said: "The meeting focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of information.”

The incidents come as SJS has recently reported on another wave of fake copyright claims targeting critical Somali media outlets and journalists.

When SJS contacted Meta’s East Africa team for comment, the company did not provide a response.

SJS calls on Meta to urgently investigate these incidents, restore all wrongly suspended, removed or memorialized accounts, and provide clear explanations to the affected journalists and media outlets. Meta must also take effective measures to prevent its platforms from being weaponized through false reports, fake copyright claims and other coordinated abuse against journalists.

SJS also calls on Somali Minister of Information Abdifatah Qasim to clarify what partnerships his ministry has with Chinese and Turkish entities, and to ensure that such partnerships do not involve silencing or intimidating Somali journalists. Somalia should not follow in the footsteps of Turkey or China, where independent media outlets have been severely restricted and journalists have been subjected to censorship and intimidation.

"We are extremely concerned by what appears to be a coordinated wave of online attacks targeting Somali journalists and independent media platforms, including account suspensions, removals and the malicious memorialization of journalists who are alive,” said SJS Secretary General, Abdalle Mumin "These attacks are not simply disruptions to social media accounts. They directly undermine journalists’ ability to communicate with the public, report on issues of public interest and maintain contact with their audiences, families and communities.”

"Meta can and must do better to defend media freedom. Its enforcement systems must never become tools to silence, harass, intimidate or falsely report the deaths of journalists simply because they are critical or publish reporting that challenges those in power. We express serious concern about the Somali Ministry of Information’s partnerships with Chinese and Turkish entities and calls on Minister Abdifatah Qasim to clarify the nature and scope of these partnerships. Such cooperation must not be used to silence, intimidate, or otherwise restrict Somali journalists.,” Mr. Mumin added.

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