President John Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama’s speech at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly gained significant attention.
His address touched on pressing issues – from Africa deserving its rightful seat on the Security Council to the continent’s future being shaped by its unstoppable youth. Without a shred of doubt, his speech resonated with many.
The part that particularly stood out for me, however, was his statement on the rising levels of mis/disinformation, hate speech, and political polarization.
As a frontliner in this space, his statement resonated deeply. In my work as a Media and Information Literacy (MIL) trainer and advocate, I have witnessed firsthand how fake news and hate speech are continuously being weaponized on platforms like TikTok and X to mislead and divide our societies.
This is not the first time President Mahama has spoken about information disorder since assuming office on 7th January 2025.
In his inaugural address, he stated, “Technology, such as Artificial Intelligence, has taken us to new heights, opening up the potential for national, financial, and personal security issues that we cannot yet imagine. One example is the use of misinformation and algorithm manipulation on social media platforms to sway a particular group’s sentiments.”
In recent events, when the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) executives paid a courtesy call on him at the Presidency and during his first media encounter, he hinted at plans to track the IP addresses of individuals who engage in such menaces and to regulate the operations of bloggers (new media).
The president’s continuous emphasis on this issue across national and local platforms underscores how seriously he and his government view these threats.
The Seriousness of Information Disorder
While the President’s focus on tracking IP addresses and regulating bloggers highlights the urgency of the issue, these measures primarily address the symptoms of information disorder through enforcement and control. To build long-term, societal resilience, we must also treat the root cause: the public’s vulnerability to mis/disinformation. This is where a proactive, educational strategy becomes indispensable.
The seriousness of this issue is reflected in recent events. Over the past few months, several arrests have been made concerning threats to kill government officials, journalists, and civil servants.
Similar incidents occurred under the previous administration of President Akufo-Addo, where individuals were arrested for social media comments that incited violence or were said to have caused fear and panic.
The root of this new reality lies in technology. We are no longer living in normal times. The unprecedented speed and scale at which information travels, enabled by global connectivity and social media, have transformed how societies communicate and make decisions.
While this is a positive development, it has also created vulnerabilities, leading to the spread of misleading and manipulated information. The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has further exacerbated this challenge.
AI tools can now create realistic images, audio, videos, and text, drastically lowering the barriers to producing highly convincing false content.Deepfakes and AI-generated mis/disinformation now pose serious threats to public trust, electoral integrity, and social cohesion.
The Foundational Solution: Media and Information Literacy (MIL)
As disinformation tactics evolve, so must our strategies to counter them. While an effective response demands a multifaceted approach, including regulation and platform accountability, I would like to underscore the critical role of MIL. As a country, our topmost priority should be teaching and equipping people (both young and old) with the skills to access and assess reliable information.
The focus on MIL is aligned with global priorities. Enhancing skills and competencies in MIL is widely recognized as a key weapon in the fight against mis/disinformation, hate speech, and other online harms.
The Pact for the Future adopted at the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024 positions MIL as an essential tool for promoting information integrity and fostering inclusive societies. At UNESCO, MIL is a flagship programme and a vital contributor to sustainable development and effective global governance of digital platforms.
The Heightened Need for Media and Information Literacy (MIL)
While its definition has evolved to include AI literacy, MIL can be explained as a set of competencies that empower citizens to access, reflect, understand, evaluate, use, create, and share information and media content in all formats, using various tools, in a critical, ethical, and effective way.
Key trends that point towards the heightened need for enhanced MIL include an increased reliance on digital platforms to access public interest information, reduced trust in traditional journalism and the growing influence of content creators as information channels, rapid developments in AI, and increasing online harms and risks to digital safety.
Worldwide, MIL is increasingly being integrated into formal education through its inclusion in school curricula. In countries like Finland, MIL has been incorporated to enhance students’ critical thinking, communication, and digital skills.
This approach integrates critical thinking and source verification skills across all educational levels, from basic school to tertiary, enabling citizens to develop lifelong capabilities to evaluate information quality and identify potential manipulation.
Other countries such as Taiwan, Estonia, and Singapore have also implemented comprehensive MIL programmes with measurable success in building digital resilience among their populations.School supplies
Beyond formal education, a national MIL strategy that engages all segments of the population is essential. For Ghana, the path forward is clear. We must develop a comprehensive National MIL Strategy, coordinated by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations in partnership with civil society organizations like Penplusbytes.
This strategy should integrate MIL into our national curriculum while simultaneously championing widespread public awareness campaigns, workplace training, and community outreach. Given Ghana’s diverse linguistic landscape, such a strategy must also prioritize delivering MIL content in local languages to ensure inclusivity and maximum reach.
Conclusion
Addressing misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and political polarization certainly requires a whole-of-society approach. Essential strategies like universal access to fact-based information sources, strong legislation rooted in a human rights framework, and transparent standards for both legacy and new media are crucial. However, these top-down measures will have limited effect if the citizenry lacks the fundamental skills to distinguish fact from falsehood. Mr. President, getting the basics right is not just an educational priority but a national security imperative. Media and Information Literacy is that essential foundation. It is the vaccine against information disorder, empowering citizens to build their own cognitive defenses and, in doing so, safeguarding our democracy.
By Emmanuel Koranteng Asomani