By Suleiman Hashi
_Senior Journalist, CEO of Horufadhi Media Group
I have been a journalist for many years. I have seen wars; I have seen peace talks fail; I have seen presidents rise and fall. But I have never seen a threat as silent and deadly as the one we face today.
The threat is disinformation — and its new engine is Artificial Intelligence.
For a long time, we journalists believed our only enemies were censors, warlords, or corrupt politicians who didn’t want the truth told. Today, our enemies are faster, cheaper, and more convincing. An AI can create a fake video of a president declaring war in 10 seconds. It can write a thousand fake news articles in one minute. It can clone my voice, your voice, and use it to incite clan violence in Awdal, Somalia, or spark a riot in Khartoum, Sudan.
And if we, the real journalists, stay silent, become lazy, or simply copy-paste press releases without fact-checking — we open the door for these malicious actors to take over.
Let me be very clear: If the media and journalists like me do not bring the truth to the people, the bad actors — including AI — will exploit the situation, and disinformation will become the norm.
When disinformation becomes normal, truth begins to seem strange. People will stop believing anything. They will think Sudan’s war is unsolvable. They will believe Palestine can be erased. They will assume Somaliland can be sold for recognition. This is how nations die — not by bullets, but by lies.
That’s why I built Horufadhi Media Group. That’s why I contribute to Voice For All. I believe in a media that is not for sale. A media that verifies before publishing. A media that stands with the people, not with embassies or lobbies.
AI is a tool. Like a knife, it can cut bread or kill. It’s our job as journalists to ensure it’s used to cut bread — to translate, to educate, to archive our history — not to kill the truth.
My message to young journalists in Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Asmara, and Khartoum is this: Learn AI, but don’t let AI learn to be you. Go out into the world. Talk to the mother in the IDP camp. Listen to the elder in Awdal. Sit in the tea shop and hear what people really say. No AI can do that. Only a true journalist can.
The battle for the future isn’t just between armies. It’s between truth and fabrication. And in that fight, we journalists must be on the front lines.
If we fail, our children will grow up in a world where nothing is true, and everything is possible for the liar.
We must not fail.
Suleiman Hashi