The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour has opened a disinformation forum for Journalists under the theme “Advanced Course on Disinformation and Fact Checking during the Election process for Ghanaian Journalists.”
Mr Dwumfour in his opening remarks at the ceremony, called on the media to be wary of disinformation during the elections, adding that disinformation threatens our democracy and peace.
“Disinformation is a real and present danger to our democracy. It can threaten the peace we are currently enjoying in Ghana,” he said.
He said as the leader of the umbrella body of all journalists in the country, his concern was the work and safety of the journalists before, during, and after the elections.
“We have a constitutionally mandated duty in shaping the narrative of this election. Our audiences i.e. the readers, listeners, and viewers must be well informed to make informed decisions at the polls,” the GJA President emphasised.
He explained that in this era where misinformation and disinformation spread like wildfire, threatening to undermine the very foundations of the democracy, it was important that fact-checking becomes a priority of Journalists since it was now an essential tool in journalism.
“If we competently verify information and debunk false claims, we help to promote transparency, accountability, and informed decision-making among our citizens. So, in this year’s election, it is our journalistic duty to factually inform our audiences so they can separate the facts from the untruth to decide which candidates to vote for in both the presidential and the parliamentary elections,” Dwumfour explained.
The GJA President later commended Spanish Embassy for the workshop and called on the beneficiary journalists to take the course seriously to be able to combat disinformation during the elections using fact-checking mechanism.
On his part, the Spanish Ambassador to Ghana, Ángel Lossada-Torres Quevedo revealed that protection and safeguarding of democracy in Ghana is a priority of the government of Spain and the Spanish Embassy.
He explained that the media, as the fourth Estate of the ream, are the gatekeepers of democracy hence the training to build the capacity of Journalists and equip them with the tools in combating disinformation.
It is the view of the Spanish Ambassador that the media would be well equipped after the training and be spurred to use fact-based Journalism during the December 7, elections.
The two-day training under the auspices of the Spanish Embassy and Casa Africa in collaboration with the GJA will see journalists and editors being taken through disinformation and fact checking by the following experts: seasoned international science journalist and fact-checker, MARÍA G. DIONIS and Journalist and Knowledge Management Coordinator at Maldita, LAURA DEL RÍO.
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