The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has empowered journalists to leverage technology to counter hate speech and misinformation in covering this year’s elections.
Participating journalists in a two-day workshop held in Tamale, were tutored on international standards of elections as well as other subjects among which were human rights, freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the use of digital tools.
The training brought together journalists from different media platforms in northern Ghana to build their capacity on the impact of digital tools on electoral processes, with enhanced skills on gender-sensitive reporting.
It was on the theme: “Elections in the Digital Age: Countering Hate Speech and Misinformation on Social Media Platforms for Peaceful Elections.”
Participants engaged in discussions and interactive sessions during the training and were presented with certificates of participation.
Mr. Abdul Hamid Yakub, Programme Officer at UNESCO, speaking at the workshop, said the training sought to update journalists on international norms and standards regarding freedom of expression, and to augment their understanding of hate speech and its impact particularly in a season of Ghana’s electoral activities.
He said: “UNESCO is a UN agency tasked with freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journalists,” adding that the organisation’s mandate motivated the training to enable journalists guide themselves on the job.
Mr Yakub mentioned that similar training had been carried out for journalists in Accra and Kumasi.
He announced plans for further capacity-building training sessions, recognising ongoing significant changes in journalism, and emphasised the importance of journalists being well-prepared to navigate evolving dynamics in their field of work.
Mr. Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, President, Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), who was the special guest at the workshop, said the timing and theme of the workshop were apt as the country geared up for elections, emphasising that elections represented one of Ghana’s most crucial decisions.
He commended UNESCO for the choice of topics covered, and said the digital era accompanied with the swift rise of artificial intelligence presented opportunities and challenges to elections in this part of the world.
He said for journalists to live up to their core responsibilities of protecting, deepening democracy, and good governance, they must fact-check information to ensure they positively impacted the nation as well as the citizenry.
He urged participants to be proactive in artificial intelligence, saying, “We must make every effort to ensure that elections in this digital age contribute to rather than undermining our very existence.”
The GJA President acknowledged the Association’s awareness of the rise in hate speech trends and its potential to incite violence, stating, “We find this development worrying, and we are committed to taking remedial steps to curtail it.”
