The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) says the digital space should not be used to spread fake news but to build the Malawi economy and publish good content about the country.
MACRA Director General Daud Suleman made the statement during a three-day workshop which was conducted in Lilongwe under the theme of “Fake News , Impact and Implications”.
Speaking with reporters, Suleman said that the very basic thing that can build the economy is to have well informed generation – one that is in a good position to know good and bad data and to make decisions that are useful to the country.
He then encouraged people in the country to use digital space to build a nation that is digitally aware and capable of producing good content.
“With so many sources of information online, it has become difficult to make sense of what content is based on fact, half-truths or lies. The use of digital platforms to share things we believe to be true when they may not be can have a powerful ripple effect, influencing others to see them as facts,” he explained.
On his part, one of the presenters, Dr Jolly Ntaba said that it is the duty of the media to investigate any information that is on the social media before pursuing it and if it is false information, media practitioners are supposed to take a stand and dig up the information.
“We are therefore expecting journalists to be able to take a stand against fake news,” said Ntaba.
Commenting on the same, National Public Relations Officer for Malawi Police Service Peter Kalaya said that the law enforcers are also fighting against fake news to protect the general public from criminal acts which usually come due to the impact of fake news.
The media practitioners who attended the three-day workshop received certificates at the end of the workshop.
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