The Deputy Minister for Government Communications, Shamima Muslim, has described media freedom as a critical component of Ghana’s national security strategy, warning that suppressing the press could create conditions for instability and misinformation.
She said a free and responsible media provides citizens with a legitimate avenue to express grievances, scrutinise government and access credible information, thereby helping to prevent tensions from escalating into violence.
Madam Muslim made the remarks at a capacity-building workshop on responsible security reporting for members of the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) at the Platinum Bay Hotel in Abokobi, Accra.
The workshop was held under the theme “Media as a Strategic Partner in Preventive Security and Early Warning in Ghana.”
According to Madam Muslim, Ghana’s position in a region facing coups, jihadist spillover and other emerging security threats makes accurate and responsible journalism increasingly important.
Madam Muslim said the government and security agencies must see the media as a partner in protecting national security rather than as an adversary.
“Media freedom is a security strategy, not a security threat,” she stated.
She said Ghana’s stability in a region experiencing political instability was strengthened, rather than weakened, by allowing citizens and the media to freely express concerns and scrutinise public institutions. “A government committed to democracy must not fear scrutiny,” she said.
She added that the responsibility of government was not to fear media headlines but to ensure that journalists had accurate and timely information to enable them report responsibly.
Madam Muslim stressed that responsible security reporting should not be the responsibility of journalists alone.
She called on government and security institutions to provide timely, credible and coordinated information, particularly during security incidents.
She warned that unnecessary delays in releasing verified information could create an information vacuum that would quickly be filled by speculation and misinformation.
“Where operational details cannot immediately be disclosed, authorities should explain those limitations honestly and provide verified updates as circumstances permit,” she said.
She also cautioned that contradictory official statements could weaken public confidence at the very moment when trust was most needed.
“Trust cannot be demanded during a crisis if it has not been cultivated before the crisis,” she stated.
The Deputy Minister urged journalists to prioritise verification and ethics over the race to break news when reporting on security-related incidents.
She encouraged PRINPAG members to allow social media platforms to be first with breaking information while professional media organisations concentrate on ensuring accuracy. “Let TikTok be first. Let PRINPAG be right,” she said.
She proposed four questions journalists should ask before publishing a security alert: whether the information had been verified through at least two independent sources, whether publication could endanger troops, victims or ongoing operations, whether it could provide tactical information to extremists, and whether it could inflame ethnic or religious tensions.
She said the media’s greatest strength in an environment where anyone could publish information was its ability to be trusted to de-escalate tensions rather than worsen them.
Madam Muslim also expressed concern about the declining fortunes of Ghana’s print media industry, describing the situation as a challenge to the country’s national memory and information ecosystem.
She noted that the Daily Graphic reportedly sold more than 100,000 copies daily in 2005, but circulation had since declined significantly despite Ghana’s population more than doubling.
She further noted the changing advertising market, saying print’s share of advertising expenditure had fallen from about 30 per cent in 2016 to less than seven per cent.
At the same time, she said digital platforms had captured a significant share of advertising revenue.
Rising production costs, particularly the price of imported newsprint, had further compounded the challenges confronting the industry.
According to her, newsprint that cost about $600 per tonne in 2020 now costs more than $1,100, making it difficult for newspapers to increase cover prices without placing additional pressure on readers.
Despite the challenges, Madam Muslim rejected the idea that print journalism should disappear, arguing that the sector had a unique role as a permanent record of Ghana’s history.
She said while radio was fast, television was dramatic and online media was viral, “print is record.”
She urged newspapers to reposition themselves as trusted sources of verified knowledge rather than compete with social media platforms solely on speed.
Among her proposals were analytical security editions, paid electronic newspapers and newsletters, digitisation and commercialisation of newspaper archives, and the organisation of security-focused public events.
She described newspaper archives as an important national asset that could also be used for early-warning and conflict analysis. “Print must not die. It must evolve, from newspaper to early warning partner,” she said.
Madam Muslim further warned that irresponsible reporting could aggravate existing ethnic, religious and political tensions.
She cited Ghana’s experiences with communal and chieftaincy conflicts as examples of situations where inflammatory or simplistic reporting could deepen divisions.
She specifically pointed to conflicts in areas such as Bawku and Dagbon, arguing that unverified casualty figures, inflammatory headlines and ethnic framing could contribute to further violence.
She also cautioned against the republication of fake or AI-generated content, particularly material capable of triggering religious tensions. “One religious riot in Ghana costs more than 10 years of media profit,” she warned.
Madam Muslim proposed a new partnership between government communication structures, security institutions and the private media to strengthen preventive security and early warning.
She suggested the establishment of a secure verification channel involving PRINPAG leadership, the National Security authorities and the Ministry of Government Communications to facilitate rapid fact-checking during security incidents.
She also proposed quarterly security briefings for editors, support for journalists’ right-to-information and safety training, and the development of a PRINPAG Code for Responsible Security Reporting.
She stressed that such measures should not amount to censorship but should strengthen verification and professional standards.
Madam Muslim said the ultimate objective should be to create an information environment where journalists could investigate without intimidation, security agencies could operate without reckless exposure, citizens could access credible information and legitimate criticism could be expressed without becoming a tool for division.
She congratulated PRINPAG and the National Security Secretariat for initiating the partnership and urged participants to see journalism as an instrument for protecting peace, democracy and human life.
“Our collective duty is clear: to communicate accurately, to act responsibly, to defend constitutional freedoms and to place the peace and security of Ghana above every competing interest,” she said.
