AYV News May 26, 2023
The BBC Media Action Sierra Leone has trained Bloggers and Social Media Influencers on misinformation and disinformation.
The training was conducted in Makeni and targeted Seventeen (17) Social media influencers.
Marian Tina Conteh, one of the Trainers said the training comes as a result of a funded project by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), Independent Radio Network (IRN) and at BBC Media Action Sierra Leone.
She said through this project, BBC Media Action is to provide media literacy on misinformation and disinformation to journalists and bloggers.
She said the training was as a result of a Media Reform Coordination Group (MRCG) research that shows that influences have a great role in spreading information.
This she said was the reason why they were targeted so that they will be mindful and cross-check the kinds of information they are sharing.
“We have realised that misinformation and disinformation have become a problem in society, especially at moments like these when Sierra Leoneans will soon go to the polls and most people will tend to send information that is not true, which sometimes can lead to conflicts in society.” Tina said.
She concluded that the BBC Media Action will be observing and monitoring the bloggers after being trained, to see what they will be posting going forward.
