By Ronald Joe Morovia

By Roland J. Morovia

The advent of mobile phones and social media has brought dynamics to information sharing; giving rise to the dissemination of fake news. It is against the backdrop of addressing this challenge that the Africa Young Voices (AYV) Media Empire and Africell Sierra Leone have unveiled the ‘AYV News Update SMS Service’ that is geared towards providing Sierra Leoneans accurate news on current affairs.

Managing Director of AYV, Dr. Ezekiel Duramany-Lakkoh said the introduction of Service is born out of the idea to address the spread of fake news across the country, especially through social media and give users the opportunity to access reliable information. He further explained that the dissemination has become overwhelmed with fake news which has become a huge challenge in the country.

He added that the Service will not only provide Sierra Leoneans with conventional news but also information on whether forecast and entertainment at their comfort and at any time.

However, even with the proliferation of media outlets in the country, access to accurate information still poses a major challenge because of the dependence on social media information.

Joe Abass Bangura, Chief Corporate Affair Manager of Africell said the AYV News Update SMS Service provides Africell subscribers the opportunity to be informed on happenings.

He said subscribers will be required to send ‘Start to 298’ for just a minimal cost of Le300 per day and can be renewed on a daily basis. The Service he went on will provide users with breaking news as and when they happen.

He said with the Service, subscribers need not to read newspapers, listen to radio or watch television to be informed on happens, noting that Service can be accessed using any type of phone.