Last year, both locally and abroad, a few public figures made comments that made an extremely false link between the Covid-19 virus and the arrival of 5G. The comments were completely nonsense: there is no scientific evidence behind them. But social media picked them up and ran with them. People on social media who tweet outraged with “If that’s true then…” went wild.
This is where it gets tricky: in my role as a spokesperson for MTN, I’ve had calls from media (mainly radio stations looking for a 30 second sound bite), asking for commentary and interviews on this wild conspiracy theory, which was creating more anxiety. at a time when the world could least afford it.
It may seem like it is the job of the telecommunications industry (and its spokespersons) to suppress such conspiracy theories, but many years of experience in the media have shown me that this does not happen. not always. What happens most often is that when a company comments on something as outrageous as this claim, the headline reads (as it might have in this case) “MTN denies 5G causes Covid-19 “. Simply putting the company name in the same sentence as the conspiracy theory lends that theory credibility.
It is not the role of journalists to simply report what one side has said and then get the other side to comment. Reporters are more than just society’s stenographers; the job involves a lot more responsibility than that. A good journalist must question the veracity and credibility of an allegation before perpetuating it and giving it undue credibility. Fortunately, this type of informed review largely occurred in this example.
Why am I writing about this now? Well, this experience has once again confirmed to me and my colleagues at MTN the need for reliable, credible and authentic information led by journalists, editors and editors who understand the importance of their role in society.
Barack Obama said it best when he said a free press and freedom of speech must be upheld because, in the end, lies and misinformation do not outweigh the truth. With so much fake news circulating these days, it is often forgotten that a free press is the cornerstone of democracy and we need look no further than the Covid-19 pandemic to realize the crucial role that reliable and truthful information plays in society.
It’s tough in the media industry. Publications and media providers across South Africa have been hit hard by the Covid-19 shutdowns, the third and fourth waves and the resulting lack of advertising revenue. Reporting has become a minefield, with a plethora of fake news threatening to drown out the truth.
The International Press Institute, a global network of editors, media executives and leading press freedom journalists, has urged governments around the world to recognize the crucial role of news media independents in the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure that emergency measures to combat the disease are not used. as a pretext to censor information or implement regressive regulations against media freedom.
But Amnesty International says journalists and media in eastern and southern Africa have come under increasing attack over the past year, despite the urgent need for access to information during the Covid-19 pandemic and other crises in the region. It says media workers have been fired, TV channels suspended or shut down, the private press targeted and journalists intimidated, dealing a blow to the right to freedom of expression and access to information.
To help promote media freedom and continued access to reliable information, in late 2021 MTN supplemented its half-million rand donation to the South African National Publishers Forum (Sanef) by donating 400,000 additional rands to the organization. The purpose of this donation is to finance safety training for journalists. MTN also donated R400,000 to the Association of Independent Publishers. Nearly 80 fine print publications folded and up to 700 journalists lost their jobs during the pandemic; MTN aims to help small community publications in need.
The Association of Independent Publishers, a vibrant national organization promoting the interests of the local independent print media sector in South Africa, will use its donation to support small community publications affected by recent looting and declining advertising.
Despite the challenges and difficult working conditions of the past two years, Sanef has done an outstanding job of helping to keep journalists safe during the pandemic. MTN wishes to continue to support these key initiatives. They also dovetail well with MTN’s own drive to debunk myths around vaccinations, encourage the wearing of masks and maintain the levels of hygiene introduced in response to the pandemic.
Sanef will use part of its R400,000 to train journalists in conflict reporting; the 2021 looting and violence across South Africa underscored the need for far greater support for journalists on the line of fire.
Media closures, unrest, corruption and the threat of violence against journalists remain a worrying threat to journalists – and to our democracy. We are confident that our assistance will help provide effective support to the country’s media industry, so that all South Africans have access to timely and reliable information they can trust, and those in power are held responsible.
