President John Dramani Mahama has raised concerns over the growing influence of bloggers and online platforms, warning that their largely unregulated activities pose challenges to national discourse.
“Many of them are unregulated, and sometimes they go to the extreme. Around the world, nations are asking: how do we regulate hate speech and extreme foul language?” he said.
Mr. Mahama made the remarks when the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, and his executives paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House on Friday.
President Mahama also condemned the harassment of journalists by security personnel at public events and urged greater collaboration between the GJA and security agencies.
“Journalists are not enemies. They are there to do their legitimate job of informing the people,” he stressed, calling for a regular forum to foster mutual understanding.
Commenting on Ghana’s recent decline in international press freedom rankings, Mr. Mahama attributed the setback partly to the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale and other attacks on reporters. He underscored the need for stronger deterrent measures against such violations.
“Once there is no deterrent, they continue to do it,” he noted, pledging that his administration would ensure accountability and protection for journalists.
