Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to Fight misinformation in his own office before criticizing others.
The former President, is of the view that the Flagstaff House over the years has serve as the headquarters of misinformation in the country.
During the Ghana Report Summit on “Dealing with Misinformation and Disinformation – Election 2024,” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo underscored the critical need to combat the spread of false information in the democratic process.
“Misinformation refers to false or inaccurate information spread unintentionally, while disinformation involves the deliberate dissemination of false information to deceive,” explained President Akufo-Addo. “These false narratives can distort public perception, undermine trust in our institutions, and even incite violence.”
However, John Mahama, says if the President really wants to make any headways in the fight against misinformation in the country, he must start at his own office as he is convinced that most fake news on the various social media platforms are cooked at the Presidency.
“The President condemned misinformation and used the ‘Agyapadie’ document as an example of misinformation but probably what the President doesn’t know is that his office, the Flagstaff House, is the headquarters of misinformation.
“That is where fake the stories that misrepresent what people have said and feed into the social media. His own office is the headquarters where they do that and so he should clean his house first before he talks about misinformation in other places.” He said
John Mahama, used the occasion to clear the air on what transpired between him and the Bawku Naba, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, concerning the creation of new region.
“I went to Bawku Naba’s palace and we spoke about the issue of carving out another region to encompass the six (6) constituencies in this area and I explained that there were constitutional processes that needed to be gone through and the criteria was 1. Economic Viability, 2. Land Size 3. Population.
“Aside from that, a petition must be presented, a commission of enquiry must be setup to look at the feasibility of creating a region. In the evening, I saw a fake news story misrepresenting completing what I said and trying to put me against the Manprugu state.I never mentioned Manprugu yesterday at all, I was just comparing landside and region, and economic liability and all that.
President Akufo-Addo has yet to respond to Mahama’s comments, but it remains to be seen how he will address the issue of misinformation within his own office.
Source: Elvisanokyenews.com
