Misinformation and disinformation are like a technological genocide - Adam Bonaa

A security and safety analyst, Adam Bonaa, has described the spread of misinformation and disinformation as a form of “technological genocide.”

He explained that this has the potential to undermine society and endanger lives.

Speaking in an interview on GhanaWeb TV’s Election Desk, Dr. Bonaa said, “Misinformation and disinformation by itself is a technological canker, call it that way. I would want to refer to it as a technological genocide.”

He further pointed out how social media has turned almost everyone into a trained or untrained broadcaster, resulting in huge consequences.

“These days, we have all become trained and untrained media people. All you need is to sit in this my garden and put a camera or a tripod in front of you. And these days you don’t need any sophistication when it comes to this thing. You have a SIM card in it, and it is transmitting depending on your followers,” Adam Bonaa stated.

He emphasised that easy access to mass communication has aided the dissemination of disinformation and misinformation, sometimes resulting in disastrous consequences.

He pointed out cases where false information about mass killings or armed movements could cause fear and panic.

In Ghana’s case, during the election period, it could prevent people from stepping out to cast their votes.

He said, “Sometimes, some of these guys who do these things have more followers than some media houses and are broadcasting to them. So, you can imagine if such a person is lying that this number of people have been killed, that number of people have been killed, or somebody is carrying firearms and going to point B, so let’s go and ambush them. What will happen is that innocent lives are going to be lost. People are going to be afraid; fear and panic will creep in. And once fear and panic creep in, you might not have people out there wanting to go and vote”

Regardless of all the challenges, Adam Bonaa highlighted the need to preserve democracy, even with its shortcomings.

He contended that democracy, with all its weaknesses, is better than a military or dictatorship regime.

“What will be in the atmosphere is that these politicians, if you go out there to vote for them, will go and sort their families and friends and leave you. So, why should I go kill myself for them, forgetting that our democracy is still better than probably any dictatorship of a sort depending on where you stand. I believe that no matter what, we should guard our democracy jealously because it is better than whatever military or dictatorship one would have lived under,” he stated.

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