Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and messaging app WhatsApp have been blocked by internet providers in Liberia according to real-time network measurement data from the NetBlocks internet observatory.
The nationwide disruptions come as Liberians take to the streets to participate in Save The State protests against alleged state corruption.
The anti-government protests come just over a year after former soccer star George Weah was inaugurated into office. As an outsider, Weah campaigned to tackle corruption, and improving the provision of crucial services like education, health, and infrastructure.
A few months into office, the government, however, Weah admitted that $104 million of freshly-minted currency had gone missing in a shipping container at the Monrovia port.
Data confirm that #Liberia's leading internet provider Lonestar has blocked the Associated Press news agency's website following publication of a critical article on the protests, while it remains available via Orange, Libtelco and K3Liberia #KeepItOn 📉https://t.co/wlvTPHjK3Z pic.twitter.com/AyOY46jedo
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) June 7, 2019
After an uproar, officials retreated insisting the money was never lost. An additional $25 million, withdrawn from the country’s reserves and meant to be injected into the economy, was also lost.
Besides calling for the return of the missing millions, demonstrators are also demanding for the establishment of a war crimes court to institute legal proceedings against those who bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities committed during Liberia’s civil war.
