With just a week to the December 7 presidential and parliamentary elections, Ghanaians have been cautioned against oncoming barrage of doctored audios, documents and videos aimed at confusing the public, and to cast President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the governing NPP in bad light.
The electorate and the media have been particularly asked to be very circumspect as to the kind of information they feed on, and not allow themselves to be “conveyer belts” for the propagation of such fake news.
“If you do so, you will end up being pawns in the hands of local and international elements that want to negatively affect Ghana’s democracy and elections,” the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said yesterday in a news release.
According to the Minister, who has recently been warning about the increasing proliferation of fake news, there is credible information of impending release of a lot of fake news in the last days to December 7 polls.
“We are aware of materials that have been produced locally and internationally to be churned out this week in a final desperate attempt to create panic and insecurity as well in the days ahead of the election.
“It is all because some elements have realised their campaigns for the election have flopped and seek to revert to the politics of scandal fabrication with a hope to attack the credibility of front-runner candidates,” Mr Oppong Nkrumah added.
Mahama’s attacks on security
Meanwhile, the Information Minister has expressed disappointment over former President John Mahama’s constant attacks on state security agencies with mere allegations and no evidence, just with the hope of whipping up anti-government sentiments.
Mr Mahama recently accused the National Security apparatus of being responsible for the criminal activities of supposed secessionists in the Volta region.
“For a former Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces to so desperately stoop this low and attack the security agencies without providing any evidence is so disappointing. If he has any credible evidence to back his claims, the responsible thing to do is to put this out and not just merely mouth suspicions,” Mr Nkrumah said.
The Information Minister also warned miscreants who are being recruited to attack planned walks and demonstrations this week to be wary as the country’s security agencies have been already alerted and would deal ruthlessly with such persons.
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