Fatimatu Abubakar (M) with participants at the training workshop
Journalists have been urged to display a high sense of professionalism in discharging their duties ahead of the December elections.
Minister of Information, Fatimatu Abubakar, who made the call said disinformation and misinformation have developed more in a decade than centuries ago, hence, the need for stakeholders to manage them.
She was speaking at a capacity-building workshop organised by the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) on election reporting in Somanya, the Eastern Region.
She said that managing the online space coupled with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly sophisticated in recent times.
She indicated that though the 1992 Constitution does not censor information that is published, it is important for journalists to be responsible and ethical in their work.
“We bear individual and collective responsibility to ensure that the right things are done. If we do not collectively look for solutions and say the mandate lies only on those who have been elected, I believe the solution will take some time,” she added.
Madam Abubakar also mentioned that as one of the key stakeholders in the December 7 election, journalists are expected to act and work in the best interest of the state for the stability of the country’s democracy rather than their personal interests.
She said journalists, therefore, have a role to ensure that they crosscheck every information they disseminate to the public irrespective of the authority providing the information, in order not to cause chaos and panic before during and after the December polls.
President of PRINPAG, Edwin Arthur, underscored the important role the media plays in holding people to account particularly people in authority.
He, however, bemoaned the state of the media in recent times due to lack of adherence to high standards, needless politicisation, and discrimination among others.
Mr. Arthur noted that the workshop is also aimed at equipping participants with the requisite knowledge and skills to enable them report professionally on the impending general election.
He also maintained that the leadership of PRINPAG would not hesitate to sanction members who fail to adhere to the ethics of the profession and engage in reckless enterprise that will bring the name of the profession into disrepute.
Among, the topics participants were taken through were election reporting and best practices; ethical and legal considerations related to covering elections fact checking techniques; online and offline tools for fact-checking videos and photos among others.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah