State wraps up campaign against fake news

A series of events combating misinformation within Maldivian media comes to an end on Thursday with the conclusion of a campaign launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Seven prominent figures within Maldivian journalism were chosen as ambassadors of the campaign which was conducted from November 4 to March 5.

Throughout the campaign, ambassadors regularly shared awareness posters on personal social media accounts and conducted meetings to discuss potential measures to eliminate misinformation.

Following the campaign's inauguration at Champa Central Hotel in the capital city of Male', several key events were hosted in collaboration with Public Service Media (PSM), national radio service, Voice of Maldives and local universities.

Four ambassadors introduced the campaign during PSM's 'hendhunu hendhunu show' on November 5 while several ambassadors also spoke on the topic, youth and the media during PSM's Zaviyani show on December 3.

On November 28, Maldives National University (MNU) Student Union took photographs with selfie frames to promote the campaign.

An ambassador spoke on air during Voice of Maldives' 'Baahjaveri' program on November 6 and also participated in another program on February 6.

Under the campaign, an information session was held for students enrolled in the Maldives National University (MNU)'s Advanced Certificate of Journalism programme on February 24. A similar session was later hosted on February 25 for Maldives Media Institute (MMI) students studying to acquire Certificate 1 in TV presentation and Certificate 3 in Journalism.

Highlighting the accessibility of information on social media networks, the ministry stated that the purpose of the campaign was to convey individual responsibilities of spreading accurate information and increase awareness on misinformation.

Furthermore, the ministry asserted the belief that the proliferation of accurate information was critical in attaining Sustainable Development Goal 16, peace, justice and strong institutions.