We met at the Ghana Report Summit on Thursday, August 1, 2024 in Accra.
It was on the theme: “Dealing with Misinformation and Disinformation – Election 2024”.
You were lead discussant for the panel on “strategies to combat fake news”. I was on that panel. You said strategies to deal with misinformation and disinformation included police arrest.
Sir, journalism is in a quandary. Thanks to digital platforms and social media, the reach of news is like never before.Fake news is rife, negatively impacting democracies. Citizen journalism – where every citizen today is a journalist because of the mobile phone – has led to contentious news and a decline in public trust in journalism.
Fake news poses a threat to democracy, particularly the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to discredit factual information. It could have dire consequences for national security, and the image and reputation of individuals and organisations.
Arrest as strategy for fake news
Sir, in my contribution, I disagreed with you on arrest as a strategy for combatting fake news. I submitted that the police had no business or responsibility in arresting anyone for fake news.
I explained that fake news – which is misinformation or disinformation – is as a result of an exercise in free expression, which is a fundamental human right.Article 21 (1) of the 1992 Constitution states that “All persons shall have the right to . . . (a) Freedom of speech and expression, which shall include freedom of the press and other media.”
Let me be clear here: individual messages of hatred, racial discrimination, or coup d’état shared on digital platforms are not news items. News goes through a certain treatment and process; such messages do not, and could be subject of investigation.
Nana Aba Anamoah, the moderator, asked an interesting question which contextualised my argument. She asked whether she should face no sanctions, if she should publish that I am impotent.
Institutions
Sir, there are institutions and processes that deal with unfair and misleading publications. The National Media Commission (NMC) is one such; so is the court system.Misinformation, which Nana Aba’s question typifies, is an exercise in free expression: it is, often, an inevitable by-product of free expression. Thus, arrest in such cases constitutes an arrest of our fundamental human right to free speech, and the 1992 Constitution, which guarantees free expression.
Also Mr IGP, in our part of the world, the police and security agencies unfortunately serve as agents of those in power and do their bidding.
They become weaponised against perceived powerless adversaries, and society in general. Arrest for fake news is often instigated by the powerful – the politician or businessman – against journalists for merely doing their job.
I have been a victim of that in my career as a journalist. There are recent instances of other such arrests.Allowing the police to arrest people for fake news, as they do, could breed tyrannical and authoritarian governments, which a democracy can ill afford.
Surprise interjection
Sir, you jumped into the panel discussion from the audience to say I was being sensational and pandering to “clickbite” – I think you meant clickbait – when minds were at work.
It left me wondering if I really understood sensationalism and clickbait, after almost 40 years of journalism and communication practice. In reality, I did none of that.
Forget the adulation from the former GJA president, Affail Monney, who supported you and declared you a journalism lecturer. The Affail I know did not mean it.