Ghanaian youth urged to leverage digital tools to combat disinformation

Mrs. Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, has called on youth to adopt digital security practices for fact-checking and preventing disinformation.She noted that the dual nature of rapid digital transformation offered immense opportunities and posed challenges like misinformation, hate speech, gender stereotyping, and privacy issues.Mrs. Azoulay made the call in a speech read on her behalf by Mr. Carl Ampah, Programs Officer UNESCO at the Youth Against Disinformation Conference, in Accra.The conference, which brought together youth activists, NGO leaders, and political figures, underscored the crucial role of young people in combating disinformation, especially during electoral processes.Mrs. Azoulay urged attendees to harness digital tools responsibly to promote accurate information and safeguard democratic values.She noted that Ghana's electoral periods often saw a surge in disinformation, with both political and non-political figures spreading false narratives about opponents, creating a l andscape where youth are exposed to misleading information, significantly influencing their voting decisions.Mrs. Azoulay stressed the need of utilising digital tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity monitoring for effective fact-finding and cross-referencing information.Dr. Imurana Mohammed, Director for Programmess at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), stressed the critical issue of disinformation in Ghana, especially during elections.She noted that the spread of misleading information was worsened by young people not utilising available initiatives to enhance their understanding of disinformation.'Over the years, this has been with us for a long time and has become more prominent these days because of the spread of social media and how easy it is to access information through technological devices.'For every election cycle, there are many instances that I see disinformation and misinformation by political actors in the country,' she saidDr. Mohammed encourage d the youth to build capacity to navigate the complex information landscape.'We observed that the spread of disinformation during electoral period becomes more rampant.'The unfortunate aspect is that those of us, especially the young persons, are not in the space taking advantage of the capacity-building programmess that organisations like Penplusbyte have organised to help us understand this issue of disinformation.'If we take advantage of such capacity building initiatives it will enable us to put ourselves at the forefront of the fight against disinformation,' she said.Mr. Jerry Sam, Executive Director of Penplusbyte, disclosed that his organization had launched several digital platforms aimed at fact-checking information during electoral periods.He highlighted that these platforms simplify the manifestos of political parties, allowing the public to assess the feasibility of their policy recommendations.Mr. Sam stressed the importance of government action to address the rising disinformation du ring elections, noting that such misinformation poses a threat to the social cohesion of the country.Source: Ghana News Agency