THE Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has organised a public forum on countering misinformation, disinformation and propaganda narratives ahead of the 2024 general elections in Ghana.
READ: Ghana to implement action plan against misinformation in 2024
The forum was organised to analyse the escalating issue of information disorder and discuss its impact on national stability and democratic governance in the West African nation.
The forum also focused on generating actionable strategies and recommendations on how Ghana can build resilience against the proliferation of mis/disinformation and propaganda narratives towards the 2024 electioneering process.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Sulemana Braimah, noted that mis/disinformation has become one of the most serious threats to election integrity globally. He added that as it is increasingly becoming alarming in Africa, it will not spare Ghana if not addressed urgently.
He said mis/disinformation and propaganda narratives would get worse in the lead-up to the election because elections are seen to provide fertile grounds for disinformation campaigns.
“We share boundaries with countries that are targets for massive disinformation campaigns. So, we face a challenging situation ahead of this year’s elections. If the situation is not tackled robustly, the consequences can be dire,” Braimah said.
The MFWA director called for collaboration between all stakeholders in the country to combat misinformation and disinformation before, during and after the 2024 general election.
“We are here because we know there is a problem and we know collectively we can act together to dismantle any disinformation that will be targeted at disrupting our 2024 general election,” Braimah
Also commenting at the forum, the British High Commissioner in Ghana, H.E Harriet Thompson, noted that Ghana is not alone in the fight against mis/disinformation.
“We are fighting this together with you and that’s why we have supported the training of journalists and social media influencers,” said Thompson, who was represented at the event by the Development Director at the British High Commission, Richard Sandall.
He further noted that addressing information disorder will help Ghana maintain its enviable achievements in conducting successful elections throughout its fourth republic.
He expressed assurance that if stakeholders work together with the media leading the charge, the threats posed by information disorder will be addressed.
The forum was organised in partnership with the National Peace Council (NPC) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with funding support from the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), UK.
The forum, held on March 27, had in attendance several participants including representatives from the NPC and NCCE, governance and media experts, legal experts, CSOs, public and state institutions, journalists and human rights experts.
Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via [email protected] and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.
