The Secretary General of International IDEA, Dr. Kevin Casas – Zamora has called on countries to use dialogue to resolve issues on misinformation and disinformation.

According to the Secretary General,the current strategies employ by countries which included the shutting down of internet services is dangerous to democracy.

Dr. Casas – Zamora made the call at a one – day seminar organized by the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and Cyber Security Authority on the theme “Impact of Disinformation on Electoral Integrity, Peace and Security in Africa” at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The Seminar which included two panel discussion sessions was attended by key stakeholders from both public and private organisations including political parties, civil society organisations, the judiciary and security institutions.

The International IDEA Secretary General cautioned stakeholders to seek answers together especially at the national level on how to resolve issues without killing the fundamentals of democracy.

He appealed to social media organisaions to assist in managing misinformation and disinformation on their various platforms as well as civil society organisations (CSO) to intensify their civic awareness creation among the citizenry.

Dr. Casas – Zamora advised media organisations to as a matter ofresponsibility, crosscheck facts before publication. “Stakeholders should also intensify research on new technologies including artificial intelligence to help address these issues”, He added.

Source: SonShinne News Desk