GHANAIANS URGED TO JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST ONLINE MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION

The 2024 edition of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) has been opened in Accra, on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, with a call on Ghanaians to join hands in the fight against online misinformation and disinformation to build a secure cyberspace in Ghana.

This year’s opening event, organised by the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces, brought together an array of dignitaries including members from the Diplomatic Corps, Joint Cybersecurity Committee, Joint Intelligence Committee and other key stakeholders under the theme, “Combating Misinformation/Disinformation in a Digitally Resilient Democracy: Our Collective Responsibility”.

Speaking at the official opening, the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful expressed concerns about the use of digital media to amplify the spread of misinformation, noting that “70% of online misinformation spread by just 10% of social media accounts”.

She highlighted recent trends in misinformation such as YouTube channels, encrypted messaging on Telegram and the use of deep fakes targeting election processes and political actors. She therefore called for enhanced public and media education to effectively combat disinformation in Ghana.

Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful disclosed that the ministry, together with the CSA is collaborating with digital platform owners such as Meta “to establish rapid response mechanisms for reports, especially during the election period”. She further urged the National Communications Authority, the Ghana Police Service and the Attorney General’s office to expediently prosecute identified misinformation cases under the provisions of the Electronic Communications Act and the Criminal Code to serve as a deterrent to the public.

In his welcoming remarks, the Chief of Defense Staff, Lieutenant Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah noted the importance of this year’s theme in light of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary polls in December. He highlighted the importance of building the capacities of citizens to detect, prevent and mitigate cyber threats including the spread of mis/disinformation to ensure peace and stability, especially in this electioneering season.

Lieutenant Gen. Thomas Oppong-Peprah advised members of the media to be professional and circumspect in their reportage to avoid creating fear in citizens and facilitating the spread of misinformation.

He further declared the Ghana Armed Forces' readiness to collaboratively counter misinformation and protect the cyberspace. “The Ghana Armed Forces is ready to support the Civil Authorities and other security agencies to ensure Ghana remains a beacon of democracy in Africa” he stated.

Speaking to the theme, the Director-General of the CSA, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako noted that safeguarding the integrity of Ghana’s electoral processes from the dangers of misinformation requires collaborative efforts from government, institutions and individuals.

“We must engage actively in improving our digital literacy and promoting healthy online habits as we navigate through the myriads of information to make electoral decisions. Each citizen regardless of his/her political orientation should be educated to recognise false and malicious information and understand the dangers associated with it” he stated.

He further advised the public to utilise fact-checking mechanisms to verify information before sharing and encouraged businesses to invest in cybersecurity practices and data protection measures while the government continues to integrate cybersecurity activities into the national agenda, to build a resilient Digital Ghana.

For his part, the European Union Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Irchad Razaaly stressed that an uncontrolled increase in misinformation can trigger violent protests against authorities and erode the trust in institutions by manipulating the opinion of the public. He touched on the presence of external perpetrators of misinformation campaigns and called for deepened collaboration between Ghana and the EU such that “foreign information and manipulation will fail to undermine our bond”.

As part of the ceremony, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful launched Ghana’s National Cybersecurity Strategy and Policy (NCPS). The policy framework, which spans 2023–2027, is designed to guide Ghana's cybersecurity development across five critical pillars: Legal measures, Technical measures, Organisational measures, Capacity Building, and Cooperation.