Social Media fallacies: MTN Ghana partners Police to set up Forensic Laboratory
Time may be running late for Ghanaians involved in abusive use of social media platforms to spread fake and security-risk news in the country as MTN Ghana is partnering with Ghana Police to set up a Forensic Laboratory.
Business Hilights Ghana Bureau chief gathered that the laboratory when completed will be able to track sources of falsehoods and smear campaigns being promoted on social media networks.
Giving the hint in an interview during the launch of Mobile Money (MoMo) Poultry Value Chain Project and Exhibition Programme at Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region, Senior Manager, MTN Mobile Financial Services, Commercial, Mr. Abdul-Majeed Rufai, said “we are buying equipment to be used for this Laboratory” to help the Police to monitor, detect, track, arrest and publish the names of persons who embark on such campaigns.
MTN further explained that the setting up of the Laboratory was primarily necessitated by a WhatsApp audio post which went viral, suggesting the Company’s MoMo services were shutdown following the xenophobic attacks which occurred in South Africa about a couple of months ago.
Rufai added that the fake news forced MTN to embark on massive public education to sensitise the public against such negative perceptions created by mischievous persons against the MoMo services and the MTN brand.
He said “A lot of customers had to queue at the various agent points to withdraw their monies. We were compelled to do education to allay the fears of the public on that false information.”
MTN Ghana noted that it is doing everything possible to regain the lost confidence of its customers and the public with the quality of its products and services on offer.
