Information is powerful. It is so powerful that it is usually identified as one of the instruments of national power.
The wrong information about a person or institution, if left unaddressed, can forever sully such person or institution’s reputation. Once wrong information matures and grows horns, it is very difficult to arrest the beast. Nations can win or lose wars through the manipulation of information.
Information forms the basis of psychological warfare (psyops) and is the backbone of military deceptions (mildec) during military conflict. Bad information or manipulated information have been used to justify wars!
Journalists thrive on information. They inform people about what’s happening around them. Cardinal to the information journalists provide is truthfulness! But while what’s true is not always a matter of black and white, it is important and critical that the information one gives is anchored in honesty!
“Seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent” went an old ethical code of journalism written in 1973.
So when I come across headlines that scream “Human Rights Commission Urges Govt. To Protect Gays”, it leaves you wondering what is the objective of such a headline! Does it seek to “minimize harm” or sow discord?
I am pretty certain that the report cited seeks the protection of all Gambians, but to only pick out one category and use that as a headline is telling! Did the report not also ask for the protection of children?
How about persons that are differently abled? Is it that the headline did not find the protection of children or differently abled persons as important as the protection of “gays”? Wouldn’t it have been better to say “Human Rights Commission Urges Government to Protect GAMBIANS?
We can reject and say what we want about any group of Gambians but the fact remains that they will still be Gambians! We can hate or despise any group of people but they are and will remain our brothers and sisters! We can disown them if we want but we cannot take Gambianess out of anyone!!
Importantly, given the contentious nature of certain topics such as “gay rights”, and given the rights abuse our people endured for twenty-two years, I would think we would all put our hands on deck to support a worthwhile institution serving as a bulwark against human rights violations of any kind or is that too much to ask for?
I would think that those at the forefront of information sharing will be mindful of stoking emotions on sensitive issues especially if it portrays a rather honorable institution in a misleading manner. We can surely do better!
