Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, George Sarpong has called on Ghanaians not to allow social media to mar the peace being enjoyed in the country through false publications.
He made the call at a public forum on free and responsible use of social media which attracted traditional media operators, digital content producers, social media practitioners and others.
Discussants mentioned a need for professionals to get acquainted with workings of social media, touching on the Kenyan example.
Mr. Sarpong declared data literacy can allay fears of security capos and other stakeholders and rather make them track patterns and counter false narratives on social media platforms which could spark mass fear and panic.
The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Country Director, Dominic Sam noted there was a need for a system to quickly expose false publications or even counter them especially election results to prevent chaos.
He was however against an outright ban of social media platforms during election time and beyond.