[ad_1]
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has expressed his disgust at the spread of fake news in the country ahead of the December elections.
Therefore, he has urged the public to make sure to verify the information on the various social media platforms so as not to be fed false news.
In an attempt to stem the tide against the spread of fake news, Nkrumah has advised major media outlets to ensure that their platforms are not used to spread falsehoods and misinformation.
“I want to urge the mainstream media to help stem this tide by ensuring that people with tendencies to utter falsehoods and exaggerations do not have access to platforms that allow them to further spread this falsehood and misinformation,” he said during a National virtual speech. . Public Relations and Communications Summit and 27th Annual General Meeting held in Ho.
He also indicated that the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic placed a great task on public relations ”, as it has become necessary for the government, health professionals and other agencies of the task force to continuously engage with the public to guarantee compliance with preventive protocols. as an instrument to defeat the virus ”.
He commended agencies that played a leadership role in ensuring the public is informed and compliant with security protocols, and encouraged the public to continue to adhere to protocols as “Covid-19 is still with us.”
Mr. Nkrumah encouraged the workshop participants to contribute to the drafting of the IPR bill to ensure that a well-detailed bill is brought before parliament to ensure proper operation and regulation, as well as contribute to raising the profile of the public relations profession in Ghana. .
He recounted the efforts of the Ministry of Information to improve public relations in various ministries and departments of information services throughout the country.
“At the Ministry itself, we have implemented a number of platforms to ensure that government communications are regularly available, accessible, transparent and detailed to the public,” he said.
It details that around 100 information officers have been recruited and trained in preparation for the implementation of the Right to Information Act, adding that “in some cases, our PROs are performing these additional roles as RTI officers to ensure that we provide timely information to the Public of Ghana ”.
Nkrumah revealed that equipped information units have been established in ministries, departments and agencies to ensure a rapid response to requests for access to information, while information in ministries, departments and agencies would be archived so that citizens could access. easily .
Ghana Public Relations Institute President Mawuko Afadzinu underscored the importance of ongoing capacity development as the skill set required for the profession continues to change.
He urged practitioners who are not part of the institute to become members and take advantage of the various opportunities available to existing members.
