By Mohamed Daramy
Fighting against falsehood in a society that is characterized by fake news (misinformation, mal-information and disinformation) requires a multi-faceted approach involving people, institutions, and technology. The concept of negation is intertwined with the most fundamental principles that appear to govern the notions of truth and falsehood. We need negation to express conditions for falsehood, or at least of untruth; moreover, whether the principle of double holds or has genuine counter examples depends on what truth and falsity require, and thus also on what negation is.
The following are some strategies a society can adopt to negate falsehood: To start with, institutions like schools and universities need to promote media literacy in their educational program. They should implement media literacy programs to teach critical thinking skills, how to spot the red flags of false information, how to evaluate credible sources, and recognize bias. In addition, there should be workshops for adults to educate them on how to identify misinformation, disinformation, mal-information and also to understand the media dynamics. The community leaders should also be involved in addressing misinformation, disinformation and mal-information to foster trust within local populations.
Moreover, the society should support independent fact-checking organizations, for example I-Verify in Sierra Leone by promoting their findings to help the public distinguish truth from falsehood. Again, media transparency is very key in negating falsehood in the society. It’s important for media outlets to disclose their sources and funding to build credibility and accountability. That said, it is important for the media to publicize the truth and ensure that the public have access to true information. It is important to call out politicians for lying, and when the deceitful official is a leader, that is indeed headline news.
Furthermore, regulating social media spaces is vital for preventing falsehoods in the society. Once falsehoods move to encrypted messaging apps like Facebook and WhatsApp, it becomes significantly harder to monitor and put a stop them. There should be policies that require social media users to take responsibility and be held accountable for shared content on their handlings. Regulators should encourage the use of tools that allow users to report false information easily. So, the media regulator should be judicious in their efforts to correct false claims in the media. The public too needs to critically evaluate the information they consume, cross-check multiple sources, and verify facts prior to sharing information.
In addressing the problem of falsehoods in the society, government together with private entities should engage with the public to rebuild trust, confidence and provide accurate information. It’s a fight that requires commitment from all sectors of society. By promoting the culture of critical thinking, accountability, transparency, integrity and community engagement, we can have a society where truth prevails over falsehood.
