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Police flags Museveni spokesperson’s fake news on social media
One of the government vehicles that veered off the slippery section of the road in Mukono on July 25, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY
Police on Monday disputed information shared by President Museveni’s deputy press secretary claiming that “enemies of peace” had poured oil on some roads making them dangerous and slippery.
“This is to warn the public that the enemies of peace have chosen to make our roads slippery and dangerous by pouring oil on them,” Mr Faruk Kirunda tweeted Monday morning and tagged the official handles of the President, Uganda Media Centre, UPDF spokesperson, security of Uganda, among others.
His tweet came on the heels of information that has been circulating on social media that hooligans had poured oil on the road around Mukono causing several accidents.
A screenshot of Mr Kirunda's tweet.
Mbale Resident District Commissioner, Ms Asumin Nasike, is said to have been one of the motorists who survived the accident.
But in response to Mr Kirunda’s tweet, Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson, ASP Luke Owoyesigyire said a vehicle carrying palm oil in sacks hit a speed bump between Wantoni stage and Mawagali primary school in Mukono District before seven sacks fell off causing the road to become slippery.
“Six vehicles slid off the road and among them were three UG/C vehicles. The issue was contained after Sterling Construction Company poured sand on the road and the traffic flow is now normal. So it is not true that someone intentionally poured oil on the road. Thank you,” ASP Owoyesigyire said.
Disinformation and misinformation (Fake news) has been defined as “purposefully crafted, sensational, emotionally charged, misleading, or fabricated information that mimics the form of mainstream news.”
The growing trend of sharing fake news on commonly used social media platforms in Uganda has caused great concern among citizens and their leaders alike.
While the phenomenon is itself not new, the diversification of media platforms, the emergence and influence of social media, and the speed with which information is propagated render the fake news challenge much more insidious today.
In May last year, the then head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHACU), Col Edith Nakalema, warned Government communications officers against providing inauthentic information to citizens as this compromises trust in public leaders.
“We are all responsible in keeping our country peaceful and secure by engaging with the citizens, listening to them and giving them the information they want, as communications professionals you’re going to defend the country through the works you do by giving clear and satisfactory information” she said while addressing 91 Government communications officers who were undergoing a two-week reformative training at the National Leadership Institute Kyankwanzi on May 24, 2021.
She added: “We are in a communication and information war, there is so much that is being communicated every minute yet those responding take so long to respond and then they are overtaken by events. You need to occupy the communication space such that the enemy misses an opportunity to attack you.”
