In recent times, the Management and Editorial Staffs of THE INDEPENDENT newspaper have been terribly shocked by what seems to be calculated efforts by some white-collar criminals and their collaborators, to not only dent, undermine, undercut and destabilize the professional operations of the paper but also put our institution in unwarranted conflicts with others for the principal purpose of having it asphyxiated or suffocated from the Liberian media landscape.
These marauding white-collar criminals, for their own pecuniary or self-serving gains, recently inserted a FAKE NEWS item into the logo of THE INDEPENDENT newspaper’s past edition: Vol. No. 62, Monday, May 30, 2022.
The banner headline on The INDEPENDENT Newspaper’s May 30, 2022 edition is totally different from the new headline that the unidentified crooks, charlatans, and fraudsters inserted into the paper’s logo: Captioned: “WE ELIMINATED THE FOUR AUDITORS BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 FUNDING AUDITS,” with the photograph of Mr. Nathaniel Falo McGill, former Minister of State and ex-Chief of Office Staff of President George Manneh Weah, criminally placed under the FAKE NEWS story headline.
Mr. McGill was earlier sanctioned by the United States Department of State for corruption and subsequently suspended from his post by President George Manneh Weah. McGill later resigned from the Weah led Government of Liberia.
The fake headline was criminally and illegitimately circulated on social media including Facebook, with the same May 30, 2022, as our publication date.
As if their evil act against THE INDEPENDENT newspaper was not sufficient, the criminals again, on April 17, 2023, republished the same FAKE NEWS story about former Minister McGill, again using this paper’s Logo with the same fake headline and re-circulated it via social media outlets.
Although the Management and Editorial Staffs are terribly shocked relative to the act of incivility and deliberate wrongdoing, we are not, in anyway, deterred by such cowardly and felonious acts against The ‘Investigative’ INDEPENDENT newspaper.
In other words, we remain ever resolute, unyielding and unbendable to carry out our professional responsibilities without any molecule of fear and favor in the Liberian Nation and beyond.
And so, let the words also go forward that in the exercise of our professional duties, we have no friend or foe. Indeed, we are committed to playing our professional role without malice against none, especially at this time when the Liberian nation is fast approaching crucial Presidential and Legislative elections slated for 10, October, 2023.
Frankly, let be known that we can never-ever be cowed into submission to the whims and caprices of those who are working under the cover of darkness or behind the curtains to have THE INDEPENDENT newspaper suffocated from the Liberian media landscape.
For more than two decades since its establishment, THE INDENPENT and its committed and dedicated staffs have faced, and resiliently survived brazen acts of tyranny and dictatorship, and will never drop our pens and notepads at a snap of any dictators’ fingers, even with bullets resting on our chests.
With the Almighty God being our Divine Protector, we will continue to use the laws of the Liberian Nation and other statutory provisions to decisively fan off or away any evil and draconian designs against our paper.
The Management and Staffs of THE INDEPENDENT also consider such unwarranted and unlawful acts as well-calculated attempt to unduly put our paper in an unwarranted conflict with former Minister McGill.
This is why we whole-heartedly concur with the Publisher of The ‘Investigative’ INDEPENDENT Newspaper, Mr. Sam O. Dean, who described these activities against the newspaper as cowardly, irresponsible, and totally counterproductive to free press and freedom of expression in Liberia.
Just as Publisher Dean, we too believe strongly that such acts by heartless and greedy individuals gear towards undermining the independent press had- long been captured by traditional media outlets that have stood the test of time from Liberia’s dark days when dictators and tyrants suffocated and asphyxiated many independent media outlets.
We also think that such activities against THE INDEPENDENT newspaper are designed and executed for personal aggrandizement, and at the behest of some unscrupulous individuals with apparent political motives and at the detriment of Liberia’s hard-won peace and democracy.
Indeed, THE INDEPENDENT has been giving equal access to all and sundry and in the best interest of the country.
Moreover, the paper had never published any news story, with the headline captioned: “WE ELIMINATED THE FOUR AUDITORS BECAUSE OF THE COVID-19 FUNDING AUDITS,” with Minister McGill’s photograph placed on the front page of said publication.
This latest Fake News placed in the paper’s Logo clearly demonstrates that THE INDEPENDENT newspaper and its staff have been targeted, and as such, we sincerely fear for our precious lives.
That The ‘Investigative’ INDEPENDENT has been a target of smear campaign and hate-messages is not only troubling and worrisome but also requires credible investigation, to say the least.
We say this because, since its establishment, The INDEPENDENT Newspaper has always avails its pages to all politicians, political parties, and independent candidates, pro-democracy and civil society groups, among many others since 2001.
This is also why we vehemently condemn and categorically reject these latest criminal and unlawful attacks against traditional media outlets via such apparent dirty politics which is fast creeping into Liberia’s infant democracy.
We think such behaviors are not only frightening but also have the propensity to grossly undercut press freedom and free expression in the Liberian nation.
Moreover, we believe that any draconian tactics to weaken the already economically susceptible local media is intended to steer unwarranted conflicts aimed at undermining Liberia’s hard-won peace and democracy.
This is why the Management and Staffs of the INDEPENDENT join the Paper’s Publisher, Sam O. Dean, in calling on members of the International Community including the United States Embassy near Monrovia, European Union, ECOWAS, African Union, World Association of Newspapers Publishers, Global Investigative Journalism Network, International Reporters, Reporters Without Borders, the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Publishers Association of Liberia (PAL) and West African Journalists Association (WAJA), among others to thoroughly investigate such devilish syndicate aimed at undermining the trust and credibility of the traditional media in Liberia, perhaps beginning with THE INDEPENDENT newspaper .
