Dr. Aubyn Warns: Hasty Journalism Risks Harm to Ghana

Dr. Festus Aubyn, the Regional Coordinator, Research and Capacity Development at the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP), has cautioned journalists and media houses against rushing to publish election stories without cross-checking.

Dr. Aubyn said journalists must remember that “as you rush to break the news, you might end up breaking the nation.”

He gave the caution when speaking on ‘Early Warning and Matters Arising-Election 2024’ during a Learning, Closeout, and Stakeholder Conference organised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) for the GJA/US Embassy Ghana Election 2024 Project dubbed “Journalists for Peaceful Discourse.”

The conference was on the theme: “Promoting Peaceful Journalistic Media Platforms Ahead of Elections 2024.”

He said the media could help in the promotion of peace and incident-free general elections by churning out the right stories instead of rushing to break stories that might lead to chaos.

He said that even though technology had enhanced the electoral process and media work, it had also introduced new vulnerabilities, including misinformation, disinformation, and social media challenges.

The WANEP Regional Coordinator called on the media to implement robust systems to safeguard and educate the public, emphasising that private media houses, especially those owned by political persons, and bloggers must fact-check claims before publishing, stressing that “it is important to cherish accuracy, not overspeeding to break the news.”

Touching on the warning signs, he said WANEP had identified some potential trouble areas that needed to be looked at and addressed.

Dr. Aubyn said electoral integrity, which is paramount in winning the trust of political parties, was the first sign, noting that there was a trust deficit in certain key institutions such as the Ghana Police Service, the Electoral Commission (EC), and the Judiciary, which played key roles in the election.

He said the acceptance of results of the elections would depend on the actions and inactions of the EC and the political parties, and urged the EC to share information with all stakeholders and promptly address issues to build the needed trust.

Dr. Aubyn noted that even though the two major political parties in Ghana, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), disbanded their vigilante groups in the 2020 elections, unconfirmed evidence suggested such groups were operating under the guise of party security.

He said other warning signs are the manipulation of unresolved conflicts by politicians, especially the Bawku conflict, proliferation of illicit arms, ethno-religious issues, terrorism, and violent extremism in neighbouring countries, as well as issues on inclusivity and socio-economies, all of which could affect the sanctity of the country in the December 7 general elections.

Dr. Charity Binka, the Executive Director of Women, Media, and Change (WOMEC), chairing the conference, called on the media to   do what was expected of them.

“We need to have character; it plays a crucial role and directly impacts your work in an election,” she stressed.

She called on stakeholders to support and celebrate collaborative efforts to maintain Ghana’s peace before, during, and after the elections.