The President of Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has joined several groups including the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Liberia, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean have strongly condemned a fake video circulating in Liberia which went viral on social media on national security.
In press release issued on Saturday, September 17, 2022 and signed by the Minister of Information, Ledgergood J. Rennie, the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Frank Musa Dean urged the International Community to publicly condemned this Malicious Video.
The release said the attention of the government has been drawn to a malicious video being circulated on social media, which makes erroneous and incendiary claims about the state of affairs in the country.
While the recent uptick in political activities ahead of general and presidential elections is understandable, “no amount of desperation should lead us to toy with our security”, the Acting Chair of the Cabinet, Justice Minister Frank Musa Dean has said.
He warned that engaging in false news with a clear intent to incite and create agitation in the general population is against the law; and therefore anyone found fermenting or sponsoring activities intended to create chaos could face the full weight of the law.
The video not only cast aspersions on our enviable electoral system – which has gained much international acclaim recently – it also dangerously posited that the government is bringing in the country nefarious elements intended to create violence.
This, the Minister said, is very wrong, and could potentially damage the country’s stability and international reputation.
The Justice Minister has therefore engaged Liberia’s international partners, including the heads of the Embassies of the U.S. and European Union, calling on them to vehemently condemn the dangerous and inciteful ploy which seeks to undermine Liberia’s hard-earned peace.
He said the onus is upon the international community to debunk this creeping menace as the particular video in question directly alleges that it was they [the international Community who uncovered a plot.
The government wants to make it absolutely clear that it will leave no stone unturned in its determination to protect the country’s peace and security.
For his part, the President of the PUL, Charles Coffey, Jr, termed the video on social media as fake, horrible internationally and verifiable false, and further noted that such fake news is designed to manipulate people’s perceptions of real facts of peace and stability.
The PUL President said the content of the video is known by its promoter to be false based on facts that are demonstrably incorrect, or situation that verifiably did not happen. According to Mr. Coffey, the content is a fabricated information that mimics news media content in form but … lacks the news media editorial norms and processes for ensuring the accuracy and credibility of information.
It overlaps with misinformation (false or misleading information) and disinformation (false information purposely spread to mislead people).
Meanwhile the PUL president is urging media institutions and individual journalists to watch out for fake news stories by unscrupulous individuals who want to use the media to cause havoc and panic among Liberians.
Mr Coffey is further calling on the media counter the fake news and educate the public. He said the peace and stability being experienced in Liberia must be maintained and cautioned against all acts that have the propensity to undermine peace, security and stability of the country.
At the same time Mr Charles B Coffey Jr is urging the media to be conflict sensitive and always exercise high degree of professionalism.
Meanwhile the PUL President is commanding the media for handling the fake video with caution in line with professional standards. He wants to media to always double, and facts check information before publication.
