“Fake News”, this is how the Canadian ambassador accredited to Haiti, Sébastien Carrière, reacted curtly in a tweet on Monday, October 24, 2022, following the publication of an announcement by Zoom Haiti News of an interview with a Canadian government official.
In the wake of questions about Canada’s involvement in the purchase of ballistic equipment by the Haitian government for the Haitian National Police, the Canadian ambassador accredited to Haiti was clumsy enough not to restrain himself, calling the announcement of an exclusive interview with the Minister of International Development of Canada Harjit Sajjan that the media planned to broadcast in the early evening, Fake News.
This disconcertingly light-hearted blunder did not fail to offend the media’s managers and the entire team in general, inviting the diplomat to make a public apology in place of the tweet, which he was urged to delete shortly afterwards.
In reaction, Emmanuel Paul, CEO of ZoomHaitiNews, shortly before the interview was broadcast tweeted this: <<Mr. Ambassador it is not enough to delete the tweet. If it was a media outlet from your country, I’m sure you would apologise. It’s not normal to tarnish people’s reputation for free.
It should be noted that Minister Sajjan’s office was keen to apologise to Zoom Haiti News for this blunder by the Canadian ambassador accredited to Haiti.
In the end, was it because the Canadian diplomat was not well informed? Was he underestimating the work of the Haitian media, particularly Zoom Haiti News?
While waiting for answers, it remains that Mr. Carrière spoke from the place of his beautiful function, sent to Haiti to complete his long career. As Frédéric Sawyer suggested, “a diplomat is a man who thinks twice before saying nothing.
Indeed, by calling the ZoomHaitiNews information a Fake News, Ambassador Sebastien Carriere not only neglected the elementary principle for an ambassador or anyone else to check before reacting or tweeting on a file, but also showed a faux pas that could say a lot about his way of working with regard to the important file.