By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, March 28, GNA – The Nation Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has sensitised trainees of the Pantang Nurses and Midwifery Training College (NMTC) on misinformation, disinformation, hate speech and proliferation of small arms.
The sensitisation was aimed at alerting the young trainees that they need to verify and fact-check every information as hate speech, misinformation and disinformation have far-reaching effects, particularly in sensitive areas such as health, politics, economic and social issues.
Mr Mawuli Agbenu, Greater Accra Regional Director, NCCE, said the engagement with the trainees was designed for the youth and women because over the years that segment of the population had not been included actively in the democratic process.
He said the programme was a collaborative initiative between the National Commission for Civic Education and the European Union to be carried out before, during and after the 2024 general election under the European Partnership for Development.
Mr Agbenu said young people had characteristics of being energetic, bold and ambitious but their weaknesses like being gullible and aggressive could easily be manipulated leading them into carrying out acts of violence.
“Democracy also thrives on information but we sometimes have information disorder, where people bring in all sorts of information to the public domain to cause confusion, violence and conflict. We want information that is put out there to bring development, improvement and unity,” he said.
The Regional Director said he believed the students who were largely women had been educated well on the basic rudiments of information disorder, where they would be able to decipher and identify what is false information and know that even if the information was true, it was not necessary to disseminate it if it would bring conflict.
“Before you disseminate any information, think about it. Is it going to bring peace? Will it bring development? Will it bring progress? If it will not bring any of these then there is no need at all for you to bring it into the public domain,” he urged the students
Madam Elizabeth N.A. Mensah, Principal, NMTC, Pantang, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the discussion on misinformation, disinformation and proliferation of small arms was a step in the right direction, adding that the trainees would know what information to share specially on the social media.
She said though anybody above 18 years with sound mind could get a gun, it ought to be noted that sometimes, people’s own gun could be used against them and therefore citizens must exercise restraints in quest to acquire a gun.
“I think that the initiative that when we see anything we should also say something is good for us. Amongst the trainees, the discussion on misinformation, disinformation would also help them so that the quarrels and petty conflicts among them will now come down so that if somebody comes to tell something which is not actually the case they will verify,” she added.
The students expressed their satisfaction for the opportunity to learn and understand how to navigate their way around the ever-evolving digital and artificial intelligence world.
GNA
GRB