Let us keep to truth, accuracy

The fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) does not only require the right healthcare and social intervention policies; it also requires the dissemination of credible information. Misinformation about the pandemic is as deadly as the virus itself. “Our common enemy is COVID-19, but our enemy is also an “infodemic” of misinformation,” the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres, rightly stated.

With the dissemination of information being a crucial weapon in fighting the virus, the role of the media has become increasingly important during this challenging period. The media is the bridge that connects people with the needed information critical in containing the pandemic.

The media have not left any stone unturned in their coverage of the pandemic. They have provided people with all the health updates and educated people on the need to adhere to all the directives meant to curb the spread.

It was in line with this crucial role that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo urged media practitioners to continue to ensure truthful and accurate reportage on the coronavirus.

The President made this known on Friday, April 24, 2020, when he met with the leadership of the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) as well as the leadership of State-Owned media organisations on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Describing the media as “a formidable ally”, President Akufo-Addo noted that they had so far been helpful in informing and educating the citizenry about the pandemic, the steps that had to be taken to combat it, as well as discharging their roles as ‘vehicles of accountability’

However, he said without truth and accuracy, the media could derail the efforts to stop the pandemic.

“It is important that the facts be accurate because, if they aren’t, they generate an amount of uncertainty and fear in the society that is not helpful for the management of this crisis,” the President said.

The Daily Graphic agrees with the President and believes that misinformation does not only have the potential to negatively impact the fight against the virus, it can also sow the seed that can further polarise our country way after the pandemic has been conquered.

As a media organisation with the mantra “TRUTH and ACCURACY”, the Daily Graphic calls on all media organisations to make TRUTH and ACCURACY their yardstick as they go about educating and informing their audiences about COVID-19.

We must understand that just as the media can be utilised for national development, they can equally become counterproductive in the development agenda and be a force of anarchy. It was the media that was used to exacerbate the Rwandan genocide. COVID-19 is arguably one of the biggest challenges that has confronted us as a nation and the last thing we need is the fourth realm using misinformation to cripple efforts to curtail it.

However, we need to emphasise that truth and accuracy does not mean shielding the truth and hiding information. Openness and transparency is also very important in dealing with the pandemic and the media will not renege on its responsibility to bring out the truth.

At the same meeting with the President, the Chairman of the NMC, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, appealed to the President to support the media in the country with a stimulus package in the wake of COVID-19.

He said the COVID-19 pandemic had had a great toll on the finances of the media, especially the print, which suffered greatly under the three-week lockdown and said they could be considered under the government’s package for small and medium enterprises.

We consider this appeal by the NMC Chairman a legitimate one and further appeal to the President to take it into consideration and act on it.

The media have been at the forefront just like frontline workers, risking our lives to discharge our constitutional mandate of providing people with up-to-date information and educating them on the importance of complying with the health protocols. However, we have been doing it with dwindling resources.

With the advent of COVID-19, most of the streams of income for the media have virtually dried up, making it difficult for most media houses to stay afloat during this difficult period.

The Daily Graphic believes that a stimulus package for the media at this point should be considered as part of efforts to contain the virus. After all, the country cannot afford to have collapsed media houses when information dissemination is a crucial part of the fight against COVID-19.

We will continue to give our best and ensure that people are provided with the right information, but we must be helped to survive in order to discharge that responsibility.