Online Press Conferences Are Credibility Tests (By Malika Bouayad)

By Malika Bouayad, Group Account Director, Public Relations&Strategic Communications, APO Group (https://APO-opa.com) Online press conferences – or OPCs — have become routine across Africa. Governments, multinationals, DFIs, and listed companies use them to deliver speed, access and reach across markets. What has changed is not their prevalence but their function. Today, an OPC is less a platform for information-sharing than a live test of institutional confidence – conducted in public, under pressure, and judged less on what is said than on how an organisation behaves when control loosens. What journalists are really watching Journalists don’t join OPCs simply to hear prepared remarks. They attend to observe how an organisation responds when questioning escalates. They notice hesitation. They track how follow-ups are handled or deferred. They assess whether responses feel coordinated or internally negotiated. These signals shape how reporting unfolds long after the session ends. Organisations that appear coherent and assured are treated differently from those that appear cautious, fragmented or defensive. This scrutiny is particularly pronounced in multi-market African contexts, w