By Rose Cross Mahorya
The Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) has said that there is a need for the media to report facts about the economic situation in the country and not reporting based on rumors or unverified information as doing so leads to unnecessary panic in the business sector.
Speaking on Monday in Mzuzu when the Central Bank held an interactive meeting with stakeholders including members of Nyika Media Club, RBM Director of Financial Marketing Chakudza Linje noted that every time fake news about looming hike of some tariffs or any other financial adjustments come out, traders react by increasing prices of basic goods and services.
“Spreading of fake news is the biggest challenge in Malawi; people spread all kinds of information without verifying them but in the end it is poor Malawians that suffer.
“For instance, each time there is a rumour about fuel price adjustments, business owners rush to adjust prices for products. Sometimes people think they are doing good by spreading old communiques or untrue information but in the true sense they are also harming themselves since price hikes also negatively affect everyone,” she said.
Linje pointed out that recent projections by the bank that food prices are likely to be reduced by the month of march, should give hope to the nation.
“By the end of March, in some parts of the country harvesting will be in progress so there is a huge likelihood that prices will go down due to increased supply.
“At the same time, we anticipate about a 10 percent increase in our GDP due to the government’s efforts to increase revenue through agriculture, mining and tourism,” she said.
Nyika Media Club Chairperson Feston Malekezo said an influx in citizen journalism is one of the biggest challenges faced by media because while the professionals strive to balance and verify whatever information they get, those in informal communication rush to publish unverified information.
“We are doing our best to provide skills to those in the formal sector and they know that no information should be published or broadcast until it’s verified.
“But with increasing access to smart phones and the internet, it is not hard to regulate the spread of fake news since everyone puts on the hat of a journalist,” said Malekezo.
He noted that most traditional media houses have tools to help them establish factuality in their stories.
