Ghanaian security officials urge journalists to prioritize verification

Ghanaian security officials are calling on journalists to prioritize accuracy and verification to protect national security. During a media capacity workshop in Accra, Divine Selase Agbeti, Director-General of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), urged reporters to “verify before amplifying” to prevent the spread of unverified information that could trigger panic or inflame communal tensions.

Agbeti advised media organizations to avoid publishing sensitive operational details, such as tactical positions or the identities of protected persons, which could endanger lives or assist hostile actors. He also emphasized the importance of making prominent corrections when misinformation is published.

National Security Coordinator COP Abdul-Osman Razak echoed these sentiments, noting that the information space is as critical to national security as a country’s borders, airspace, and territorial waters. He highlighted that the media serves as a component of the nation’s security architecture and a source of open-source intelligence, stressing that journalism should expose wrongdoing without undermining the institutions it seeks to hold accountable.