Given the global digitalization trend and the rise of social media, verification of news updates has taken a backseat to virality and sensationalism. Media houses and online platform are in a competition to break the “Hot stories” first and this often results in the dissemination of unverified & untrue stories which only serves in spreading chaos and misinformation in society. It is in light of this that the coalition for good governance and economic justice in Africa arranged a workshop for media practitioners and stakeholders to discuss some of the challenges facing journalism today. The event themed “balancing ethics and patriotism: The obligations of journalists to their country” covered a wide range of issues including Fact checking, ethics in journalism, patriotism and even combatting fake news. In his welcome address, the country director for the coalition for good governance Prince John Mayaki stated that the need for this event arose from a love for the country and an understanding of the burden of the responsibility on journalists to inform and educate the public. He acknowledged the efforts of some traditional media practitioners to verify and fact check stories before releasing them to the public, but also called out the the numerous unchecked online platforms that exploit language and the art of journalism for the purpose of garnering attention and clicks in the best case scenarios and eliciting violence and chaos at worst. The workshop featured highly informative presentations like Dr. Gbodi Ajose’s presentation where she emphasised the need for promoting patriotism and national identity, chastising the some media practitioners for only capturing the nations flaws and shortcomings in their stories and only depicting the nation as a failing state which would invariably affect the perception of our country both within and outside the country. Khalifa Muhammad Binu Yahya spoke on the need to regulate online/social media news platforms in an effort to combat the spread of fake news whilst Mr Ademuyiwa Adebola shared several insightful tips on the responsible usage of social media including , being sensitive to the feelings of others, knowing what to share and understanding that the media never forgets, hence the need to only share what one would be happy to be associated with many years after the time it was shared. The event also featured presentations on Fact checking and media literacy, Ethical considerations in source management and a panel discussion on the impact of fake news on democracy and society. Speaking at the event Prince Adewole Adebayo, 2023 presidential candidate for the SDP commended the coalition for their efforts as well as members of the media for their participation, whilst also sharing nuggets on patriotic criticism, stating that being patriotic did not necessarily mean, ignoring the flaws of the government or turning a blind eye to the issues in the country. It rather meant telling those stories without portraying the country as a hopeless, unfixable state. The workshop was an invaluable experience and more initiatives like this will undoubtedly improve the state of journalism in the country as well as curb the effect and spread of fake news.
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