Libyans Struggle To Control Information Flow

The celebratory gunfire was deafening as reports spread that Moammar Gadhafi’s son Muatassim had been captured. The problem is, Libyan officials say, it wasn’t true.

Libya’s new rulers have found it hard to control the flow of information in a country that was run by one man for more than four decades. Fighters often tell a different story than officials in Tripoli, reflecting the uprising’s lack of organization. Propaganda also has been used by both sides in the brutal,eight-month conflict.

“Spreading rumors is a legacy that we’ve inherited from the previous regime,” said Jalal el-Gallal, a spokesman for the governing National Transitional Council who denied the Muatassim arrest report on Monday. He said authorities were trying to improve the situation but faced difficulties with the line of communication in the field.

From: http://ping.fm/IFI7l