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Anti-LGBTQ+ laws are on the rise across west Africa, campaigners warn

The Guardian · 🇬🇧 public United Kingdom · · 827 words · By Rachel Savage
Human rights International Influence Political Opportunism
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What to know about Human rights

A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.

Claims checked 14
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left12%
Center76%
Right12%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.

Why it matters

In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality.

Common ground

Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Scapegoating: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/02/anti-lgbtq-laws-are-on-the-rise-ac…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Scapegoating 80% confidence
Blaming a person or group for problems they did not cause.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing scapegoating helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 14 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 2
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Claim 1: “The first three conferences were held annually in Uganda, in east Africa, beginning in 2023.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to verify the location or timing of the first three conferences.
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Claim 2: “In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the “promotion” of homosexuality.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (The Guardian, Attitude, and another news source) confirm that in March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalized the 'promotion' of homosexuality.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events in the year 2026 in Senegal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Senegal
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country of mainland West Africa, situated along the Atlantic Ocean coast. It borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Senegal national football team (French: Équipe de football du Sénégal), nicknamed Les Lions de la Teranga (English: The Lions of Teranga), represents Senegal in men's international association foo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegal_national_football_team
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 3: “Thirteen transgender women were detained without trial from June to November last year [in Burkina Faso].”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is reported by The Guardian, citing an HIV worker. No other independent source in the provided evidence corroborates this specific detail about 13 transgender women being detained without trial.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Maurice Nawalagmba Yaméogo (31 December 1921 – 15 September 1993) was the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso. He proclaimed the independence of the country on 5 Au…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Yaméogo
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A war in the Sahel region of West Africa has been ongoing since the 2011 Arab Spring. In particular, the intensive conflict in the three countries of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has been referred to …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_the_Sahel
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning Conservation Measures for the West African Populations of the African Elephant is a Multilateral Environmental Memorandum of Understanding and was laun…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_African_Elephant_Memorand…
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 4: “At this year’s conference, hosted by Ghana’s parliament in June, the draft African Charter on Family Sovereignty and Values treaty was drawn up.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 5: “Same-sex relations are already punishable with up to life in prison in the Gambia, while transgender women are criminalised by a cross-dressing ban.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 6: “The bill [in Ghana], which hasn’t been signed into law by the president, is the latest iteration of a bill that was first introduced in 2021.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia explicitly confirms the existence of the 'Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill' in Ghana, noting it was approved by Parliament on February 28, 2024, and mentions the context of LGBTQ+ activism/arrests starting in 2021.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On 20 May 2021, 21 LGBT rights activists in Ghana were arrested at a hotel in Ho, Ho Municipal District, during an assembly where the activists were discussing human rights treatment of LGBT+ people i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrests_of_21_Ghanaian_LGBT+_a…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The anti-LGBTQ bill in Ghana, formally the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, is a pending law in Ghana that would introduce wide-ranging restrictions on LGBTQ rights. The bill was approved b…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghanaian_anti-LGBTQ_bill
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Ghana face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Sexual acts between males have been illegal as "unnatural carnal kno…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBTQ_rights_in_Ghana
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 7: “In June, Ghana, which already outlaws gay sex, passed a law criminalising LGBTQ+ “activities”.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this specific claim consists of general definitions of the month of June. No specific news source or reference in the provided evidence confirms the passing of a law in June, although Wikipedia mentions a pending bill.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — June is named for the Roman goddess Juno, the wife of Jupiter. June never begins on the same day of the week as any other month, but always ends on the same day of the week as March.
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/June
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web search NEUTRAL — June is the sixth month in the Gregorian calendar and has 30 days. It is the first month of astronomical summer in the Northern Hemisphere and astronomical winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/months/june.html
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web search NEUTRAL — In the Southern Hemisphere, June is the start of winter and contains the winter solstice, the day with the fewest hours of daylight out of the year. In places north of the Arctic Circle, the June sols…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/June
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Claim 8: “The African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty... will be held in Burkina Faso and then Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) next year, it was announced this year.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty will be held in Burkina Faso and Eswatini in 2027.
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web search NEUTRAL — The African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, a forum that many argue has influenced anti-LGBTQ+ laws on the continent, will be held in Burkina Faso and then Eswatini (f…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/02/anti-lgbtq-law…
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web search NEUTRAL — The inter-parliamentary network announced that the 5th conference will be held in Burkina Faso in May 2027, and that Eswatini will host a further convening in August 2027. These dates matter.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/consolidating-parliamentary-c…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The next edition will be held in Burkina Faso. This month’s 4th African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty, held at the Ghana Parliament House.
https://76crimes.com/2026/06/30/burkina-faso-eswatini-anti-l…
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Claim 9: “Uganda imposed the death penalty for some same-sex sexual acts that year [2023].”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to verify the imposition of the death penalty in Uganda in 2023.
schedule
Claim 10: “Also in attendance has been Dutch-founded lobby group Christian Council International, which promotes similar views.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 11: “Niger criminalised “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources confirm that Niger adopted a new Penal Code that explicitly criminalizes consensual same-sex relations for the first time in the country's history.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This brings the total number of countries that criminalise consensual same-sex acts to 66. Thirty-three of these are in Africa. Notes to editors. Visit our Niger country profile. The new Penal Code wi…
https://www.humandignitytrust.org/news/niger-criminalises-sa…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Same-sex relations are already punishable with up to life in prison in the Gambia, while transgender women are criminalised by a cross-dressing ban. However, the HIV worker worried that the government…
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/02/anti-lgbtq-law…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Niger has adopted a new Penal Code that, for the first time in the country's history, explicitly criminalizes consensual same-sex relations.
https://www.africanhrc.org/single-post/niger-joins-rise-in-a…
verified
Claim 12: “Mali and Burkina Faso, which neighbours Niger, also criminalised same-sex relations for the first time in the last two years.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the evidence confirms Mali and Burkina Faso are neighbors of Niger, the provided search results do not contain information regarding the criminalization of same-sex relations in these two specific countries within the last two years.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Burkina Faso women's national football team represents Burkina Faso in international women's football. It is governed by the Burkinabé Football Federation. It played its first match on 2 September…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkina_Faso_women's_national_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Islamist insurgency in Burkina Faso is an ongoing war and civil conflict that began in August 2015, between the Government of Burkina Faso and Jihadist African wings of Al-Qaeda such as: Jama'at N…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamist_insurgency_in_Burkina…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Alliance of Sahel States (French: Alliance des États du Sahel; AES), also known as the Confederation of Sahel States (French: Confédération des États du Sahel) or AES Confederation, is a political…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_of_Sahel_States
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 13: “All three [Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger] are ruled by military juntas.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms the existence of the 'Alliance of Sahel States' (AES), a political and economic union comprising Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, which are widely known to be under military rule following coups.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Alliance of Sahel States (French: Alliance des États du Sahel; AES), also known as the Confederation of Sahel States (French: Confédération des États du Sahel) or AES Confederation, is a political…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_of_Sahel_States
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Burkina Faso women's national football team represents Burkina Faso in international women's football. It is governed by the Burkinabé Football Federation. It played its first match on 2 September…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burkina_Faso_women's_national_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mooré is a Gur language of the Oti–Volta branch and one of the three official languages of Burkina Faso. It is the language of the Mossi people, spoken by approximately 6.46 million people in Burkina …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooré
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 14: “the annual gatherings are supported by Family Watch International (FWI), an Arizona-based Christian campaign group that opposes abortion and comprehensive sex education (CSE).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.