Former Ghanaian Ambassador to China, H.E. Edward Boateng, emphasized that the key to managing misinformation and disinformation in Ghana is to establish effective institutions.
He pointed out that the widespread dis/misinformation in Ghana persists because individuals can spread false or fake news without being held accountable.
Speaking at the inaugural Ghana Report Summit, under the theme, “Dealing with Misinformation and Disinformation –Election 2024” he said, “In a lot of countries, they have the same platforms that we have but why don’t they have this level of disinformation? This is because, there are consequences for your actions”.
Ambassador Boateng believes that in any society where actions go unpunished, there will be a high level of disinformation and misinformation.
“For instance, if I say something about you that is not true and there’s a judicial system that has speed that will make sure that I suffer for it I’m sure someone else will be weary next time when they’re talking about somebody but in our society invariably we get away with it” he said.
He added that if people had confidence in the judicial system and in our security agencies, it will be different.
“So we shouldn’t narrow it as if we’re the only ones suffering it. We’ve seen what happened in Kenya a whole government was dismembered and we saw even in controlled environments like China the President had to backtrack 3 years ago because you can’t control information. But where the institutions work, your reaction time could and should be faster” he stated.
He emphasized that the solution lies in ensuring that the institutions responsible for addressing these issues are effective and can respond swiftly to disinformation and misinformation.