Inaccurate 'cocaine reports' sign of poor journalism - Mahama

President John Mahama has attributed the factual inaccuracies that characterised the initial media reports on the busted cocaine women, to the neglect of “ethics” and “principles” by the Ghanaian media

According to him, a little research to the background of the initial story that went viral on social media could have helped to throw more light on the real facts of the case.

“The internet and the many information platforms that it offers from website to blocks to social media, has created the need for a greater amount of information to be delivered at an even faster pace.”

“In an attempt to meet that need, what sometimes is abandoned at the wayside are the basic principles and and ethics of journalism such research, fact checking and attribution,” the President stated at an event to commemorate 20 years of media plurality in the country.

Citing the controversies surrounding the initial reports on the Ghanaian lady who was busted in the UK for drug trafficking, Mahama said: “In good journalism, what this (initial cocaine story), means is that it needs to be carefully researched unless you are posting it on social media where there are no rules”.

He added: “A rudimentary internet search would have proven that the website do not exist, but the dominos have just started to fall. No nobody wants to be outdone by their competitor, so many of the media houses have started stealing content from other houses without credit to the original source”.

He advised Media practitioners to accept that the need to crosscheck facts is a principle that cannot be sacrificed under any circumstances.