Gbevlo-Lartey warns against misinformation ahead of December polls

Former National Security Coordinator, Larry Gbevlo Lartey  believes the state must devise novel strategies to combat misinformation and disinformation before, during, and after the 2024 elections.

According to him, this will reduce their impact on Ghana's peaceful coexistence, which is something the country is very proud of.

In an address at "The Ghana Report Summit" in Accra on Thursday, August 1, 2024, Gbevlo-Lartey warned that misinformation and deception represent substantial challenges to national stability.

He argued that misinformation and disinformation could be used for a variety of purposes, often with significant social and political consequences, such as swaying public opinion, discrediting opponents, influencing election outcomes, or even causing societal tensions, and that this is a conversation that is most relevant to forging and shaping the conducive environment that is required ahead of the 2024 election.

"We are indeed in an information age that is unfolding in digital space, access to which is highly pervasive among the general population all over the world. The ubiquitous global pervasiveness of access to social media with impact across regions of the world attests to this. The social media attributes of global anonymity, and speed of spread, also provide strands that immensely task the security response effort" he said.

Larry Gbevlo-Lartey advocated for increased participation in the planned National Action Plan to tackle this scourge, noting that justice and fair play in electioneering processes are critical to ensure that the outcome of the 2024 elections is acceptable to all parties.

"Ghanaians wish that the 2024 elections would be transparent, and result in the declaration of credible results that reflect the will of the electorate and leave contestants with no choice but to accept the results,” he added.

Source: Lead News Online