The Information Services Department (ISD) of the Ministry of Information (MoI), has launched a new portal to combat misinformation.
Dubbed www.ghanatoday.gov.gh, the new website apart from combating misinformation and disinformation will also serve as a repository of government information that could be accessed by the general public.
It will also serve as an avenue to disseminate and promote government programmes, policies and projects.
Launching the portal, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, said the introduction of the website by the media department of the ISD, formed an integral part of the re-organisation and retooling of government programmes.
He said the reforms aimed at equipping the department to serve more audiences with its work even as the times and media consumption patterns change.
“As you may be aware, a significant section of our population now relies on online platforms and other social media platforms for information,” Mr Oppong-Nkrumah explained.
The minister noted that some unscrupulous persons had used many of these portals and social media platforms to propagate falsehood and misinformation.
He said this phenomenon was gradually undermining democracy, stressing that “the rollout of this website will, therefore, aid the department in the fight against misinformation by providing direct information from Ministries, Departments and Agencies about the works of Government and becoming a repository of all happenings in government.”
Mr Oppong-Nkrumah said the website would provide facts about government projects and programmes, full texts of all speeches by heads of MDAs, official communications and publications, and documents on policies and programmes, to reduce the level of misrepresentations and sometimes outright misinformation online.
He expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the media division for developing the portal.
“As I have charged you earlier, platforms like this are only as useful as how regularly and accurately you update them. So work quickly and accurately to ensure that the Ghanaian citizen is reached with all the facts and the necessary documentation as soon as possible. Do not wait until tomorrow. Do it now,” Mr Oppong-Nkrumah said.
He admonished public relations officers (PROs) across the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to ensure that government information were delivered accurately and timely, adding that “It is your job to ensure that the information and the documents reach ISD media today, so that they could be published.
“The regular delays in getting materials to your colleagues at ISD media will only undermine the potential efficacy of this very useful tool. So, get to work with speed and call for help if you need help with the bureaucracy in your ministries,” the minister said.
The acting Chief Information Officer, Mr David Owusu-Amoah, said even though the ISD could not control news put out in the public, it could manage it.
He said one of the critical aspect of the ISD’s transformation was to move with speed to deal with misinformation and disinformation
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
