Fact-checking remains basic rule of journalism — Jerry Ahmed Shaib criticises Joy News report
The Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe and Deputy Minority Chief Whip, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has reminded journalists of the need to verify information with the people concerned before publishing, following a disputed Joy News report involving Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin.
JoyNews had reported that Afenyo-Markin was expected to face questions from members of the NPP Parliamentary Caucus over allegations of extortion made against him by GoldBod Chief Executive Officer Sammy Gyamfi.
Afenyo-Markin has rejected the report, saying he was not summoned by his colleagues and that he had instead convened the caucus meeting himself as part of the party’s routine preparations for Parliament’s reconvening.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Monday, August 24, Shaib said the episode highlighted the importance of verification in journalism.
“Fact-checking remains one of its most basic rules,” he said.
He questioned why journalists would publish information about a public official without first seeking confirmation from that official.
“How far-fetched is it for anybody to send a message to find out that, oh, this is what you have said, please can you confirm or otherwise? How?” Shaib asked.
He said the report had embarrassed him and argued that it fell below the professional standards expected of a respected media organisation.
Afenyo-Markin, responding to the report, said the claim that he had been summoned was inaccurate.
“Your report that I have been summoned is untrue,” he said in a statement posted on social media.
He explained that he had called the NPP Parliamentary Caucus meeting himself ahead of Parliament’s special sitting.
“This is a regular practice of the Caucus and should not be misrepresented as anything else,” Afenyo-Markin said.
Shaib said correcting inaccurate information should involve more than deleting the original publication.
“They don’t just need to pull it down. They need to apologise,” he said.
He also warned against declining professional standards in journalism, saying changes in the media industry should not weaken the obligation to establish the facts.
“Journalism may have changed, like I said earlier. It may have changed considerably in Ghana, but surely, surely, fact-checking remains one of its most basic rules,” he said.
The dispute comes as Afenyo-Markin and Gyamfi remain locked in a public disagreement over allegations of extortion and the wider controversy surrounding reported losses under the Bank of Ghana’s Domestic Gold Purchase Programme.
Editor:
Obiri-Yeboah
