Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), has advised media practitioners and the public, particularly political actors to be mindful of their utterances.
Ahead of the December polls, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, says this is necessary to ensure peaceful pre and post-election period.
“Think of the implications of your statements before you utter them, he said.
He added, “that is why we advise that when you are very, very angry, you should not talk. Because when you are very angry and you want to talk, everything that you say may not be palatable.”
The NMC Chairman was speaking at a workshop organised by the National Peace Council and the Commission, with support from the Danish International Development Agency, in Accra.
The workshop validated draft Guidelines on Hate Speech, a document intended to assist the media and those engaging the media to identify hate speech and curb it.
The Guidelines on Hate Speech, when finally launched, will help to bring discipline in public communication.
Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said media practitioners should ensure that whatever they said were based on facts that could be defended anywhere.
He said just as a journalist would speak with their family members in a peaceful and decorous manner, they should not hurt people’s sensibilities and sensitivities when they addressed members of the public.
Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, said hate speech was a menace that undermined social cohesion, eroded shared values, and disturbed peace and stability.
“Hate speech is in itself an attack on tolerance, inclusion, diversity and the very essence of our human rights norms and principles,” he said.
He said the media were the channel which perpetrators of hate speech used to spread their ill intent against targeted groups.
Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih encouraged media house owners, journalists, reporters, and news anchors to clean up the media space of every form of hate speech.
Mr Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director, Media Foundation for West Africa, entreated journalists to appreciate their unique role as the fourth arm of government and use their position to champion the democratic process and national development.
Mr George Amoh, Executive Secretary, National Peace Council, said Ghanaians should see one another as neighbours and pursue tolerance as the nation prepared for the general election.
“Diversity is very important. In diversity, you will find people who hold views different from yours. That should not trigger animosity. We must desire to coexist,” he said.
Latest Stories
-
Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James lead tributes for Diogo Jota following tragic death
16 minutes -
ADC calls on Mahama to lead peace restoration in Togo
29 minutes -
‘Grow 24’ will launch 20 agro-ecological enclaves to transform farming – Goosie Tanoh reveals
33 minutes -
24-Hour Economy: Goosie Tanoh explains how ‘Grow 24’ will boost agriculture
50 minutes -
Liverpool ‘devastated’ by death of forward Jota
1 hour -
NPP’s decision to hold primaries in early 2026 is ‘biased and bad’ – Addai-Nimoh
1 hour -
Gov’t seeking to provide 1.7m jobs via 24‑Hour Economy – Edem Agbana
1 hour -
Shacman H3000S: Power meets unmatched driver comfort in Ghana
1 hour -
24-Hour Economy is a game-changer – Edem Agbana
1 hour -
Hearts transfer ban will be resolved soon – Didi Dramani
1 hour -
Huawei introduces industry-first hybrid cooling energy storage system for commercial and industrial customers
1 hour -
Why should we import ‘Aboboyaa’, disc ploughs? Goosie Tanoh proposes solutions under 24-hour policy
1 hour -
Didi Dramani eulogizes Atalanta star Kamaldeen Sulemana
2 hours -
High-level international event in Geneva addresses escalating crisis in Sudan
2 hours -
Inflation is falling, so why aren’t prices?
2 hours