Since its founding on July 3, 1943, The Ethiopian Herald has stood as more than just a news outlet. Over the past eight decades, it has served as a steadfast defender of Ethiopia’s sovereignty, development priorities, and diplomatic interests particularly in the face of persistent misinformation and biased narratives.
As the paper marks its 82nd anniversary, it reflects on its critical role in recent chapters of national history, particularly in responding to distorted global narratives about the northern Ethiopia conflict, the Abbay Dam and Ethiopia’s evolving diplomatic posture.
Following the 2018 political reform, Ethiopia became the target of complex and politically motivated misinformation campaigns often amplified by major international media outlets. Coverage of sensitive issues such as the northern conflict and Abbay Dam was frequently sensationalized, with global outlets like CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, and The Washington Post relying heavily on unverified sources and anonymous diplomats.
These outlets frequently portrayed Ethiopia as the sole aggressor, omitting broader context and failing to account for the complexity of the conflict. While both the federal government and the then TPLF have since acknowledged wartime human rights violations, many reports at the time labeled Ethiopia’s actions as genocidal often without rigorous fact-checking.
During this turbulent period, The Ethiopian Herald remained one of the few Ethiopian media houses consistently pushing back. It exposed factual inaccuracies, challenged misleading headlines, and offered counter-narratives based on firsthand reporting, data analysis, and interviews with affected communities, officials, and scholars.
In 2022, the paper published a series of assessments highlighting the lack of balance and transparency in international reporting. It pointed out the overreliance on unidentified “experts” and politically motivated sources, while presenting ground-level perspectives, data on humanitarian access, and the human cost borne by civilians across all regions.
One of The Herald’s enduring contributions has been its ongoing coverage of Abbay Dam. While much of the international media framed the dam issue through an Egyptian lens, casting Ethiopia as a regional threat, The Ethiopian Herald repeatedly emphasized Ethiopia’s sovereign right to develop its natural resources. It reminded both local and global readers that Ethiopia contributes 86% of the Nile waters and has no intention of harming downstream countries—facts often omitted or buried in international coverage.
Even after the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), international media attention largely faded or remained skeptical. Jimma University media lecturer Getachew Tilahun (PhD)told The Herald at the time that such attitudes stemmed from systemic media bias. “Western media are built around conflict. Peace doesn’t attract the same attention. Their interest is not truth—it’s engagement,” he said.
Nevertheless, The Ethiopian Herald continued documenting peace building efforts, national recovery, and reconciliation processes, providing a vital platform for narratives overlooked abroad. One example was the paper’s coverage of protests in Denver in April 2021, where Ethiopian Diaspora communities rallied against misleading global coverage. While many major outlets ignored the story, The Herald gave it the attention and context it deserved.
In an era where disinformation spreads rapidly and media ecosystems grow increasingly polarized, The Ethiopian Herald remains committed to truth-telling grounded in national interest and journalistic integrity. As it celebrates its 82nd anniversary, its mission to uphold the facts, amplify marginalized voices, and challenge misinformation is more critical than ever.
BY YESUF ENDRIS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 3 JULY 2025
