Ghana’s National Media Commission (NMC) is concerned about the surge in misinformation in the country, following the emergence of social media.

The Commission thus wants stricter legislation instituted to check the rise of fake news due to social media.

Arguably, social media comes with a lot of benefits, including the fact that it allows for easy sharing and access to information. Nonetheless, it also comes with its own disadvantages which include dissemination of unverified and sometimes, false information.

With this, the NMC is concerned that the tool may undermine Freedom of expression.

Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr. George Sarpong, speaking at a public forum on Misinformation, Peace, and Democratic Consolidation in Ghana, in Accra on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, emphasised the need to protect the right to freedom of expression, without eroding the peace and security and democracy of the country.

He contended that the current spate of disinformation undermined the entire communications experience as well as the truth and the integrity of public discourse.

“The right to free expression is inalienable. It is something that we fought for, and we need to protect it. It is the foundation of all freedoms, so we need to protect it at all costs,” he said.

Stressing the need for Freedom of Expression to be “protected at all cost” he noted that it was prudent to keep harmful and unproductive content that may undermine the right to free expression under check.

“We need to look for methods that are effective, and constitutional. And that is the balancer we are calling for,” he said.

Additionally, he said the “global trend now is towards legislation. And we think that it is the way to go, but whatever law we put together must be democratic and consistent with the requirements of our Constitution.”