By Desmond Tunde Coker
The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ) in collaboration with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), on Friday, June 2, 2023, concluded a two-day media literacy for Youth Advocates and Journalists at the Bintumani Hotel in Freetown.
The training was funding by the European Union,
The training which comes ahead of June 24 elections is geared towards promoting information Integrity in the electoral process and to strengthen capacity of journalists, bloggers, and social media influencers on reporting the electoral process.
Speaking during the training session, the President of SLAJ, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla said that the Media Code of Conduct is the guiding principle of all journalists in the country. He added that the code of conduct helps journalists to operate well and be professional in their work. He encouraged Journalists to be confident in doing their work and to abide by the code of conduct.
He also called on journalists to fact-check before posting any information online.
Jacob Nyukuri, Senior Officer of Research Planning and Strategy Media Council of Kenya, spoke about why fact matters, tips for spotting false information online with tools that can be used to fact-check media platforms, and online fact-checking and verification tools.
He encouraged journalists and bloggers to be sure of their content as that could increase their readership and viewership. “Factcheck helps to know what is true and what is false and can improve citizens’ participation in governance by the way of giving out correct and factual information which everyone can believe,” he said. He also talked about fact and opinion which are clearly distinct.
European Union, who founded the program representative
Sereng Bertaina, Team Leader of Governance and Relations with CSOs, EU, commended SLAJ for the timely training and encouraged participants to do the right thing as Sierra Leone goes to crucial elections. She assured the European Union’s commitment to supporting free, fair and peaceful elections.
Dr. Mamoud Idriss Tarawallie, Head of Programme, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), said that such training will help the journalists and bloggers to know what to do during the forthcoming elections.