Ghanaian journalists urged to blacklist hate peddling politicians

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has asked media practitioners to blacklist politicians who used hate and divisive speeches anchored on prejudices as a means of political mobilisation.

“Media practitioners need to resist becoming lackeys to such politicians in order to save Ghana from plunging into the abyss of politically motivated violence in this year’s general election,” Mr Kadri Abdul Rauf, the CPP Communications Director, told the Ghana News Agency on Friday.

“Politicians will seek undue advantage for themselves in their relationship with and access to the media if you permit them. The temptation to seek undue advantage for themselves or otherwise compromise you in your reportage is even more compelling in an election year,” Mr Rauf said.

He said the CPP had outlined series of communication training for its communication officers and spokes persons to ensure that they avoided hate speeches.

Mr Rauf commended the Media Foundation for West Africa for its pronouncement on political parties which had indulged in hate speech.

He reminded media practitioners that they would be confronted with individual and collective danger in the event of a politically instigated violence because of their perceived complicity.

Mr Rauf, thus, advised media practitioners against forging very close association with one particular politician or political party lest they lost credibility with the other parties.

He said the CPP, in an attempt to reduce the incidence of hate speech and harmonise the flow of information from the party to the media, had formed a communication team whose membership include Prof Agyemang Badu Akosa, who speaks on Health, Mr Ekow Duncan, Agriculture; Justice Kofi Henaku, Education; Mr James Kwabena Bonfeh, Elections; Dr Vladimir Antwi Danso, International Affairs; and Mr Kadri Abdul Rauf, Environment and Development.

Source: GNA