By Eric Appah Marfo, GNA
Accra, April 28, GNA – Officials of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) and a visiting delegation from The Gambia have underscored the growing importance of artificial intelligence (AI), fact-checking systems, and digital transformation in strengthening journalism and combating misinformation across Africa.
They noted that as misinformation and disinformation continued to spread rapidly across digital platforms, media institutions must adopt innovative technologies and strengthen verification systems to protect public trust, promote factual reporting and safeguard democratic discourse.
The discussions formed part of a benchmarking visit by a delegation from The Gambia’s Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services to the GNA in Accra on Tuesday.
Mr Kofi Owusu, the General Manager of GNA, said the rise of AI and the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation had become one of the most complex challenges facing media institutions across Africa.
“Technology comes in. Now with the misinformation, disinformation, AI and all that, that’s the tricky part,” he said.
He said while Ghana’s democratic environment had created a highly competitive media landscape with strong private sector participation and government criticism, credibility and professionalism remained the foundation of GNA’s relevance.
Mr Owusu said GNA’s constitutional insulation from direct government control had helped position it as a trusted source of verified information.
“In Parliament, they refer to GNA stories in their debates as sacrosanct and credible,” he noted.
The state media must embrace technology while maintaining editorial integrity and public trust, he said.
Mr Owusu encouraged The Gambia to build a clear institutional vision for its news agency from the beginning, especially as it sought to revive and modernise operations.
Madam Cordu L. Jabang, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, said The Gambia had recently launched an AI-powered fact-checking and verification system aimed at helping citizens to verify information before sharing or acting on it.
She described it as an independent response centre housed under the Ministry of Information but operated by highly skilled Gambian technology experts, many of whom were based outside the country.
The platform allows citizens to submit audio, video, text and voice messages, including content in local languages, through a dedicated WhatsApp line for verification.
“The WhatsApp number, be it audio, tape, video, anything it could be. Even the local languages, it would capture it, verify it for you, and give you feedback as to whether or not this is the truth,” she said.
Madam Jabang noted that the initiative was designed to protect democratic freedoms while ensuring that public discourse remained grounded in truth.
“We feel that every country should be in a position to freely express themselves, but at least it should be based on truth,” she added.
The centre, funded by ECOWAS, was the first of its kind in the sub-region and would help tackle misinformation, disinformation and manipulated content in the digital age.
“Truth is the most important. Once you verify the truth of what you want to share, analyse or even criticise, let it just be factual truth,” she said.
Mrs Beatrice Asamani Savage, the Director of Editorial, GNA, said the Agency was actively transitioning into a multimedia news agency in response to changing audience behaviour and technological shifts in global journalism.
She explained that traditional text-only news production was no longer sufficient, as television stations, radio stations and digital platforms increasingly required audio, video and multimedia-ready content.
Mr Joseph Baffoe, Director of Administration, said staff training remained critical to ensuring journalists adapted effectively to the changing media environment.
He said GNA continued to invest in professional development, safety protocols and nationwide support systems involving both permanent staff and stringers across the country.
Mr Felix Attukwei Quaye, Deputy Director of Engineering and IT, said GNA’s technological strategy focused on improving newsroom workflows, editorial production, archiving systems and subscriber delivery channels.
The Agency, she said, continuously upgraded available technologies while prioritising information technology security and staff training.
“Based on the technology available, we tailor the workflow for the various departments, especially the editorial section where they create stories, edit them, save them, send them to subscribers, and archive them for future retrieval,” he said.
He added that new tools for news gathering were gradually introduced to ensure newsroom efficiency and responsiveness.
Mr Madiba Sillah, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at The Gambia’s Ministry of Information, said the delegation was particularly interested in understanding how GNA was using AI, big data and modern technologies to operate as a competitive and credible news agency.
Such lessons, he noted, would help inform discussions in The Gambia on whether its news agency should evolve into a fully independent institution with stronger digital capacity.
Both institutions agreed that African media organisations must work together to harness technology responsibly, strengthen fact-based journalism, and ensure Africans told their own stories with credibility and independence.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
28 April 2026
Pictures Added
Reporter: Eric Appah Marfo