Richard Elesho
Journalists have been tasked to always read between the lines, go the extra mile, and avoid peddling false or inaccurate narratives that could ignite crises in the discharge of their duties.
The charges were given at the weekend in Abuja by resource persons at a 2-day capacity building workshop on the use of iVerify and fact-checking.
Organized by the Lagos based International Press Centre with support from the United Nations Development Program, UNDP, the workshop was attended by journalists practising in Kogi state cutting across the print, broadcast, and online media.
Mr. Tayo Obe, Director Journalism Clinic, took the participants through the art of questioning and being detectives of misinformation. He said journalism places enormous responsibility on its practitioners and cautioned them on the dangers of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news.
He urged participants to focus on truth as they process the information they come across on the field and encouraged them to take advantage of the diverse opportunities in the industry to legitimately improve their earnings.
“The media is different from what it used to be decades ago. Avoid being used to misinform or disinform the citizens by politicians and people with bad intentions. There are many ways through which you can earn legitimate money from journalism.”
Mathew Alao, an official of UNDP in a keynote address, said journalism requires making sacrifices, noting that its practitioners must be descerning and painstaking to detect the truth. He said journalists should focus on reports that can bring peace, unity, and development rather than those that could bring down the society.
David Ajikobi, Editor of AfricaCheck, spoke on the importance of factchecking claims and how to use the various tools for that purpose.
Ajikobi encouraged the journalists to question claims by the political class in the build-up to, during, and after the 11 November governorship election.
Other speakers at the workshop are Mr. Lanre Arogundade of IPC and Rotimi Oyekanmi Chief Press Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. They both emphasised the need for media practitioners to stay above board in their election reportage.