Press Freedom Day: legal practitioner urges media to use RTI law | Ghana News Agency

The article highlights a critical disconnect in Ghana, where media practitioners underutilize the Right to Information law despite its potential to enhance transparency and accountability in public institutions. This failure to leverage established legal frameworks represents a significant missed opportunity for open data initiatives, as it limits the public's ability to scrutinize government actions through independent journalism. The legal expert urges journalists to overcome bureaucratic challenges and actively demand information, emphasizing that freedom of expression is vital for holding power to account. Furthermore, the piece addresses the complex role of artificial intelligence in information access. While AI offers tools for filtering and accuracy, it poses risks by prioritizing sensationalism over public interest and facilitating misinformation. This duality creates new barriers to genuine transparency, as algorithmic bias can undermine media pluralism. For open data ecosystems, this underscores the need for robust verification mechanisms and ethical standards to ensure that technological advancements support, rather than distort, the flow of reliable information to the public. Ultimately, the text stresses that overcoming these barriers requires a multifaceted approach combining legal awareness with ethical integrity. Journalists are called to remain steadfast against political pressure and misinformation, ensuring they serve as responsible stewards of information. This relevance to open data lies in the fundamental requirement that data must be accessible, accurate, and used ethically to foster an informed society. Without active legal engagement and ethical AI usage, the promise of open data remains unrealized, weakening democratic accountability.

Source: gna.org.gh
Published on 2025-05-08

Press Freedom Day: legal practitioner urges media to use RTI law | Ghana News Agency

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