Public Perception Management in Morocco: Glocalization Strategies after the El Haouz Earthquake

Abstract

This article examines the systematic mechanisms of information control and disinformation deployed by the Moroccan state during the communicative management of the El Haouz earthquake in September 2023. The research demonstrates that narrative control during this natural disaster was not an improvised response but rather the activation of structural mechanisms of media influence based on ownership concentration, financial control, and restrictive regulation characteristic of competitive authoritarian regimes.

The theoretical framework combines agenda-setting theory, framing theory, and Herman and Chomsky's propaganda model with concepts of competitive authoritarianism and communicative glocalization. This multidimensional approach enables understanding of how hybrid regimes adapt discourses according to differentiated audiences through economic, regulatory, and technical instruments. The research draws on Levitsky and Way's conceptualization of competitive authoritarianism to analyze political contexts where formal pluralism coexists with systematic practices of social and political control.

The methodology employs documentary analysis of official communications, systematic monitoring of national and international media coverage, and comparative examination of diverse sources during September-December 2023. The study analyzed the official Maghreb Arabe Presse agency, the state-owned SNRT broadcaster, semi-private Medi1 Radio, the pro-government Le Matin newspaper, and Assabah as a reference publication. A structured coding system identified five analytical categories: dominant frames, source management, thematic prioritization, emotional strategies, and discursive differentiation. This methodological approach enabled identification of systematic patterns of information manipulation across four chronological phases.

Results reveal that the Moroccan information ecosystem is characterized by oligopolistic ownership concentration facilitating indirect state control. Media Ownership Monitor data demonstrates that nine of thirty-six media companies controlling the country's most influential outlets are linked to the state, government, or monarchy. This structure provides the material infrastructure enabling systematic narrative control through economic dependencies and regulatory frameworks that incentivize self-censorship and penalize editorial independence.

The analysis identifies four distinct phases of narrative control during the earthquake crisis. The initial phase involved minimization of impact and restriction of media access to affected zones. The second phase emphasized legitimacy construction through emotional framing, transforming tragedy into demonstrations of governmental efficacy and national cohesion. The third phase combined selective provision of official data with recontextualization techniques to minimize governmental responsibility. The fourth phase developed anticipatory normalization tactics, projecting success narratives before actual achievements through what the research terms "anticipatory simulation".

The study reveals sophisticated glocalization strategies wherein authorities adapted messages according to audience characteristics. For national Arabic-speaking audiences, official communication emphasized national solidarity, gratitude toward royal leadership, and patriotic mobilization using cultural and religious references. For international audiences, particularly Western ones, communication adopted technocratic registers accentuating institutional modernity, coordination with international organizations, and conformity with democratic standards.

These findings validate the central hypothesis that information control during the El Haouz earthquake constituted systematic expression of a structural model of state information manipulation operating permanently in Morocco, intensifying strategically during crisis moments. The case illustrates how contemporary hybrid regimes utilize crises as opportunities to reinforce social control and political legitimation through strategic information management.

The research contributes analytical tools for understanding contemporary forms of media control in hybrid regimes, where traditional censorship and propaganda concepts prove insufficient for analyzing sophisticated manipulation techniques operating through subtle influence mechanisms rather than direct censorship.