By Famara Fofana

In this day of breathtaking transformations in the digital media landscape, journalism appears to be a less hard job. Despite being blessed with the internet and the many conveniences it has brought to humankind, the irony is that journalism is in fact a different animal today than it was a decade or so ago. This is even making a lot of people ask the question ‘who is a journalist today?’

Fake news, which could mean different things to different people in some instances continues to pose one of the biggest threats to the credibility of the news media industry.   In case you wonder why I stated that ‘fake news’ could mean different things to different people, look no further than a certain Donald Trump, who despite being flagged several times for his own culpabilities in that regard, is reported to have mentioned ‘fake news’ more frequently than his campaign talisman ‘build the wall’ since he first used the term on December 10 2016. That was a ploy by him to discredit those that were not singing from the same political hymn sheet as him.  By the way, The Donald is not the only guilty party here. Politicians elsewhere and some leaders with populist tendencies also are in the habit of branding criticism(s) as fake news when they have their back against the wall. The term seems to be carrying a similar connotation as propaganda in the political arena of yesteryear.

Let’s face it! Journalists like the rest of society are bound to make mistakes. However, the thing is that even the most minute of errors by a reporter or an editor (the supposed gatekeeper) in his or her line of duty can have catastrophic consequences for society.  This is even more true of a country like ours where the pursuit of both personal and political capital in a year of elections means any little lapse on the part of a journalist can be received with explosive kneejerk reactions and rightly so. But beyond politics, the publishing or dissemination of news that is found to be unfounded in the end can have serious ramifications for both persons and establishments at the center of those stories.  Careers and reputations can fizzle in a jiffy with the publication of stories that border on fake news or fabricated information that mimics news. Apart from established media entities, there is also the small matter of individual journalists in The Gambia the habit of copying and pasting news  on social media without  citing sources, thereby leaving their publics with more questions than answers.

And despite the fact that some people in our country frown upon the classic tabloid style of news reporting that thrives on hyperbole and melodrama, it is worth stating that sensational or Yellow Journalism as championed by the likes of William Randolph Hearst in the 1890s, may in itself not amount to fake news. Rather, it is the proliferation of citizen journalism, digital activism, chaotic communication, among other forms of online reportage that has increased the tendency for misinformation and/or the spread of fake news nowadays. This problem seems to be further compounded by the new-found super aggressive competition between different news media in dropping scoops with attention-grabbing headlines. Some would argue that the quest for ratings and views, coupled with an urge to   satisfy sensationalism-loving generation is also a reason why the media today doesn’t do a robust news processing and packaging job where every T has to be crossed and I’s dotted.

But whilst the untrained or unconventional journalist can be excused for letting go some basic tenets of the trade, a professional is expected to have his or her work grounded in facts and truth-telling – nothing more – nothing less.  So, in an era when even mainstream media houses in The Gambia and other parts of the world do fall back on non-journalists for videos and eye witness accounts of certain developments, what then should be the role of the journalists or a given media house or online platform in dealing with such secondary products?   The obvious step in the first place is to substantiate the veracity of the incident/occurrence at hand. By so doing, one would be required to go few steps further – to not just ensure the authenticity of the videos alone that easily go into online circulation these days – but utterances that are made by individuals in those clips ought to be more than double checked.

At times also, the problem is not about WhatsApp videos or audios that are peddled around with such a speed and precision but even ordinary people and what they post online, especially on Facebook, should be taken with a pinch of salt. The temptations are there for journalists to take some people’s words as the gospel truth on account of their reputation and/or profile in society. Be as that may, a degree of caution would be required in such circumstances given the implicit bias in us as human beings.

Of worthy mention here would be recent widespread reports that large quantities of ‘Cocaine’ were found in Kombo Sanyang on a day of mayhem and grief in the coastal community. On the back of the seizure of large quantity of ‘Nose Candy’ at the Banjul ports, the Sanyang cocaine claims sent a bewildered nation into another meltdown until the country’s anti-narco agents shot down those reports as false.  That tells you the power of misinformation. It has also what it takes to send people into jitters but how the media deals with unsubstantiated information from a people crumbling under information overload can help the rest of us. By virtue of its very powerful Magic Bullet or Hypodermic Needle capabilities, the effects of mass media, audiences (particularly passive ones) are likely to believe and accept that which come from journalists without any second thought.

Our current realities are best summed up by Silvio Waisbord of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs   in his paper Truth is What happens to News: “Journalism as a single institution cannot possibly control this environment. Certainly, individual news organizations have the power to determine what they publish and what norms should be followed, as they struggle to reassert their position as a “news authority” in a crowded landscape of information flows.”

The tangle web of the digital age is here to stay. For the media, the opportunities are immense but so also are the downsides in the context of fake news and/or misinformation and the dangers associated therewith. Over to us, Gambian journalists.

Famara Fofana is reading Media and Communications Studies at the Graduate School of Social Sciences, Ankara University. He is a Freelance journalist and also the author of When My Village Was My Village and Recollections of An African Child.

By Madi Jobarteh

The Gambia Police Force must be advised that the issue in Sanyang cannot be addressed by mere arrests, detentions and prosecutions. This is because the issue in Sanyang, just like in similar communities, is first and foremost a political issue that needs political attention, and not necessarily a security response upfront. The Police did well to restrain themselves in the Sanyang Riots such that they did not cause the death of anybody as they did in Faraba in 2018. While that is commendable, the Police must therefore continue to restrain themselves lest they shoot themselves in the foot.

When the Faraba Riots took place, a commission of inquiry was instituted led by lawyer Emmanuel Joof, now the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission. After two months of fact finding in July and August 2018, their findings and recommendations squarely predicted the Sanyang Riots two years and nine months later. Hence the fact that these riots did erupt in Sanyang today can be said to be the result of the blatant disregard of the Faraba Commission Report hence the direct fault of the Gambia Government.

In its recommendations especially in preventing the recurrence of a similar riot, the Commission unequivocally stated that,

“The recent incidents in Gunjur and Sanyang Fishmeal factories operated by Chinese owned companies almost erupted into violent confrontation because of issues surrounding environmental pollution which if not properly addressed, will lead to public unrest and possible violent confrontation. The authorities cannot continue to sweep issues of environmental concerns under the carpet and hope that they will go away. There must be political will on part of the Government to implement these changes.”

When this report was done, there were already several incidents taking place in these coastal towns against the unethical behaviour of these poisonous factories leading to some arrests and court cases. Thus, the issue of the Senegalese man was only an unfortunate trigger, but it already found on the ground a well-established smouldering situation waiting to erupt. The question therefore is, why did the Gambia Government refuse to address the findings and recommendations of the Faraba Commission? That is the problem. Squarely.

Not only did the Commission raise the need for communities to benefit from the proceeds of these mining activities and factories in their localities, but it went further to say that these factories must also not pollute the environment and must as well invest in the welfare of these communities. It is obvious that these fishmeal communities are best only at polluting the environment as well as denying benefits to the wider communities around them. Yet the Gambia Government continues to ignore public outcries about these concerns.

In fact, the Faraba Commission highlighted the lack of an EIA being carried out before these factories were set up as required by law, while the necessary monitoring by public institutions were not done. Furthermore, the necessary consultations with communities before the issuance of licences were also not done hence the reason for the unending tension in these communities. Indeed, the Faraba Commission was very thorough in its findings and recommendations.

The Report even went further to bring in expert opinion on conflict analysis and mitigation to say that land ownership and land use was a source of conflict in several communities. While noting that there were many unsolved conflicts surrounding the private sale and transfer of landed properties, these conflicts also have the tendency to take the dimension of tribal and religious lines in Kombo South, particularly in Gunjur, Sanyang Taneneh and Tujereng. To prevent or solve these conflicts, the Report expressed an expert opinion that there is a need to create an independent land commission to adjudicate, advise, monitor, demarcate and mediate land issues.

Therefore, after almost three years since this Report was issued, why and how come there should be another riot over the same issues, especially in Sanyang today? The purpose of Government is to protect the rights and fulfil the needs of its citizens. The access, control, ownership and use of land and natural resources are fundamental human rights issues. If, because of the abuse of the land rights, citizens were compelled to riot and cause the destruction of life such that the Government had to set up an inquiry in order to understand and bring solution to the issue, why then should that Government ignore that Report?

As the Faraba Commission Report indicated, the Government cannot push these issues under the carpet. The Sanyang Riots are therefore caused by none other than the Government of Pres. Adama Barrow and he must be held accountable. The National Assembly as well as the National Human Rights Commission including the civil society and the communities in particular must confront Pres. Barrow to explain why he ignored the Report of the Faraba Commission that he himself established on his own.

Therefore, the Police must stop the arbitrary arrest of the youth and let the political leadership take ownership to address this situation. It is utter negligence of duty by the Government which caused this unnecessary and painful destruction of life and property in the first place for which the President must be made to pay for it. If the President had paid enough attention to the Faraba Commission Report and ensured the thorough implementation of its recommendations indeed we would not have gotten here today.

We must not allow the Government to let factories to wilfully exploit the country’s natural resources and then pollute the environment in total contravention of the law but then clampdown on citizens who respond to these acts of blatant destruction of their environment and livelihoods. If the Government is indeed interested in law and order, then why is it letting factories to break the law without consequences, but then subject citizens to severe punishment for responding, even violently, against these factories who first violated the law? After all, before citizens rioted, they had first cried out for help from the Government without any success. May we ask therefore, whose interest is the Gambia Government really protecting?

For The Gambia Our Homeland

By Madi Jobarteh

It’s 4 days since the IGP issued a press release on the Poliso Magazine Facebook page. In one sense it gave a reassuring message that the police will act according to law. But in another sense it raises more questions as to why the ‘vigorous patrols’ in Sanyang if the police already had said that the situation was under control.

But since then dozens of youths are being arrested yet Poliso Magazine has not provided an update! The initial report said there would be investigations. But now arrests are taking place when the public is not told if the investigations indeed took place and what was found!

The police cannot stay mute over its actions in Sanyang. It must not use the riotous incident to unjustly and illegally arrest and detain.

There are already unconfirmed witness accounts that some of the arrested youths are being tortured. There are reports that others are arrested at night. These are unacceptable actions if found to be true.

Arrests and prosecutions will not address the core of the problem in Sanyang. Since the Faraba incident 2 years ago, the Commission of Inquiry Report predicted this kind of incidents erupting in coastal towns if necessary action is not taken to address issues of land and natural resources. The Government only failed to implement that report.

For so long, the youths of the coastal towns have been raising serious concern about the destruction of their environment by the Chinese fishmeal companies. Yet The Gambia Government only ignored those concerns.

Riot, according to Martin Luther King is the language of the unheard. So let the Government listen to these youths and their communities to address their concerns than to ignore only to use force and law when hell breaks lose.

Gambians must not accept ever again the arbitrary and illegal use of force by the security institutions on our citizens.

Yes, it is utterly unacceptable for citizens to burn down a police station or engage in violence in expressing their grievances. But the solution to that is not to further ignore the original concerns and only focus on the consequences of that negligence that comes in the form of riots!

Therefore can the IGP issue an update to citizens as to what is reason for the spate of arrests in Sanyang! Police services in a democracy are expected to be transparent and accountable to the public.

The National Human Rights National Human Rights Commission, The Gambia must monitor the situation to equally update citizens and ensure that they police act within the law and not violate rights.

TANGO and The Gambia Bar Association must also be seized with this issue in the internet of justice and human rights.

For The Gambia Our Homeland