Stakeholders within the communication sector have joined forces to develop a comprehensive National Action Plan aimed at combating the rising tide of disinformation in the country.
The plan,
currently in development, is slated to be finalised by December of this year.
This comes from
a recent National Conference on Disinformation and Misinformation, where a
7-point communique was collectively agreed upon by political parties, Civil
Society Organizations (CSOs), media representatives, and development partners.
Speaking at the
27th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards, Minister for
Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the growing spate of misinformation and
deliberate disinformation in our media space if left unchecked, could erode the
trust in the journalism profession and hinder meaningful democratic discourse
hence, the urgent need for a National Action Plan.
“Disinformation,
if not checked, at the minimum, trust in our cherished profession will soon be
eroded. At the most, we will not even have a democracy anymore where people can
exchange ideas and make decisions based on truth and fact. We run the risk of shifting
to a space where our public discourse is started by misinformation and
disinformation, twisted narratives, and sometimes total fabrications.
“If we get into
that space, we cannot have any meaningful forward-looking conversation that
builds our society. Because any conversation that starts with disinformation
evokes misdirected passions and denies us the ability to discuss and build
consensus on solutions cogently,” the Minister said.
The National
Action Plan, according to Minister Oppong Nkrumah, will incorporate a variety
of strategies including maintaining ethical standards in media, encouraging
fact-checking in public conversations, supporting high-quality journalism, and
promoting civic education.
The Minister
appealed to all stakeholders to actively join forces and dedicate themselves to
addressing this escalating threat. He said while the government has initiated
various measures to tackle the issue, eradicating this menace entirely would
require an all-hands-on-deck approach.
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