The Director-General of Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Divine Selase Agbeti, has urged media organisations to correct inaccurate reports quickly and give the correction enough visibility to reach people who saw the original information.
He made the call as he challenged Ghanaian newsrooms to strengthen verification, cybersecurity and responsible reporting, particularly when covering national security matters, communal conflicts and public emergencies.
Agbeti spoke on Sunday, August 30, 2026, at the close of a two-day residential training workshop organised for members of the Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) at the Platinum Bay Hotel in Abokobi.
The workshop was held under the theme, “Media as a Strategic Partner in National Security,” and brought together discussions on national security, cybercrime, information warfare, communal conflicts, strategic communication, press freedom and media ethics.
A major issue raised by the CSA Director-General was the speed at which inaccurate information can spread online.
He argued that a misleading headline, unverified video or manipulated piece of content can reach a large audience within minutes, potentially creating fear, worsening tensions or undermining public confidence.
For Agbeti, the responsibility does not end with avoiding errors. When a newsroom publishes inaccurate information, it must also take responsibility for correcting it in a way that is likely to reach the same audience that received the original report.
He said corrections should be sufficiently prominent rather than being buried where readers are unlikely to see them.
The advice comes against the backdrop of a rapidly changing digital information environment, where journalists increasingly rely on social media, messaging platforms, user-generated videos and other online sources when developing stories.
Agbeti urged journalists to independently verify information, particularly when reporting security incidents or sensitive public emergencies. He recommended cross-checking information with credible official and community sources and using tools such as geolocation where appropriate.
He also warned newsrooms about the security risks created by compromised digital accounts.
According to him, cybercriminals and hostile actors can exploit journalists’ credibility by taking control of newsroom or personal accounts. Techniques such as impersonation, manipulated images, synthetic audio and coordinated disinformation can then be used to mislead audiences.
The CSA boss therefore called for cybersecurity to become part of normal newsroom operations rather than being treated only as a technical concern.
Among the measures he recommended were strong and unique passwords, multi-factor authentication, regular software updates, secure backups, careful handling of links and attachments, proper access controls and clear procedures for responding to cyber incidents.
Agbeti also urged media houses to protect sources and sensitive information while ensuring staff know how to report suspected cyber incidents.
At the same time, he stressed that closer cooperation between security institutions and the media should not undermine editorial independence.
He described the media as a strategic partner in national security but maintained that journalists must continue to scrutinise public institutions and hold authorities accountable.
He also called on security agencies to provide timely and accurate information to journalists. In his view, responsible reporting becomes more difficult when credible official information is delayed or when different institutions provide inconsistent accounts.
The workshop ended with a call for PRINPAG to develop a practical newsroom protocol for reporting on national security and cyber incidents. Such a framework, Agbeti said, should address verification, source protection, handling of sensitive information, corrections and engagement with authorities while preserving editorial independence.
The CSA has previously engaged journalists on misinformation and disinformation, including training initiatives aimed at improving media capacity to identify and combat manipulated information.
