National Media Commission calls for legislation to fight misinformation

Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC), George Sarpong, is calling for consensus building to enact legislation on media usage to combat misinformation and disinformation.

Delivering the keynote speech at a public forum organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) on the theme “misinformation, peace and democratic consolidation in Ghana,” he observed that social media particularly has become an avenue for the spread of misinformation and disinformation.

George Sarpong said the time has come for a law to be made which will find a balance between defending the freedom of speech and national security and other issues of national interest.

“The point has come for us to reflect and say where we want to go from here. The Constitution in its forward-thinking created for us Article 184 which subjects media freedoms to laws that are reasonably required in the interest of national security, public order, and public morality and for the purposes of protecting the reputation of others, and it appears to me that is the way to go.”

“Let us tailor legislation that responds to the constitutional ethos of defending the right to free expression but also protecting our national security, protecting public order, and protecting the reputation of other individuals,” Mr. Sarpong added.