Information Minister Picks Fight with Fact-Checking Platform
By: Christian Conteh
The Minister of Information and Civic Education Chernor Bah has found himself embroiled in a contentious exchange with the SLAJ Managed I-Verify Platform, triggered by their scrutiny of one of his recent statements.
The dispute arose from the Minister’s assertion that “This Government came to power in 2018 and Electricity Generation and supply nationally was about 13%,” a statement promptly labelled False by the fact-checking platform.
Their investigation revealed that electricity generation and supply actually stood at 15% when the Bio-led government assumed office in 2018.
Taking to Twitter to voice his discontent, Minister Bah maintained that he welcomes accountability but suggested that the I-Verify page at SLAJ could benefit from introspection and capacity building.
This clash is particularly unexpected, given that an information minister is typically expected to maintain an amicable rapport with journalists and fact-checkers.
In my assessment, Minister Chernor Bah bears the responsibility of ensuring the accuracy of his statements. The interview in question was not impromptu and he should have taken the requisite steps to familiarize himself with the subject matter and provide precise figures, thus averting potential embarrassment in the future.
The SLAJ-managed I-Verify platform was established before the 2023 elections with support from the United Nations Development Programme. This technology-based, multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at identifying and mitigating misinformation, disinformation and hate speech during the electoral process and beyond in Sierra Leone has garnered both local and international acclaim for its professional work. It has effectively countered the alarming trend of disseminating unverified information that could undermine the integrity of democratic processes.
