To counter the growing amount of misinformation in the nation, communication industry stakeholders have come together to create a thorough National Action Plan.
The plan is being developed and should be completed by December of this year.
This follows a recent National Conference on Disinformation and Misinformation, where leaders from political parties, civil society organizations (CSOs), the media, and development partners unanimously agreed upon a seven-point statement.
Speaking at the 27th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah stated that a National Action Plan is desperately needed because, if allowed to continue unchecked, the growing wave of false information and intentional disinformation in our media could undermine public confidence in the journalism profession and obstruct meaningful democratic discourse.
“If misinformation is not addressed, at the very least, confidence in our esteemed profession will quickly decline. At most, there won’t even be a democracy left where people can discuss issues and make choices based on the facts and truth.
We face the danger of moving to a place where false information, misinformation, skewed stories, and occasionally outright fabrications dominate public conversation.
“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 cogently discuss and build consensus on solutions,” 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 would require an all-hands-on-deck approach.
