By Sia Sonsiama
Freetown – Thursday 25th June, 2015-
Concluding that recent social media postings of an audio recording of exchanges between Minister of Sport Paul Kamara and the national team coach Jebor Sherington, and a sexed up naked photo, presumably of Vice President Victor Bockarie Foh, are both the handworks of opposition elements who are poised to paint a negative picture of the APC government ahead of upcoming elections, Deputy National Publicity Secretary I of the All Peoples Congress, Comrade Cornelius Deveaux, has called on media stakeholders to step up to the abuses of the social media.
He made this call yesterday while addressing a group of concerned party stalwarts who have expressed utmost dismay as to the manner some people are misusing the social media.
Comrade Cornelius Deveaux said while it could not be denied that the social media is useful in enhancing social interaction between families and friends it is also being misused by certain elements who are not only desirous to paint a negative picture of the APC party and the APC government but intend to use the social media to instigate state disorder.
Enjoining veteran journalist Clarence Macaulay to ask why now, the APC Deputy Publicity scribe questioned the rationale behind releasing an audio recording of a bitter exchange between the Sports Minister Paul Kamara and the national team coach Jebor Sherington, which according to the Exclusive newspaper took place more than six months ago, at a time like now if the architects did not intend a mischief.
He bemoaned the misuse of the social media noting it is high time media stakeholders formulate cyber regulations to streamline the use of the social media, especially by politicians and their cronies who intend to use the social media to drag the politics of this country to the gutters and by extension provoke another cycle of state disorder.
Cornelius Deveaux also condemned the posting and circulation of a naked picture, presumably of Vice President Victor Bockarie Foh, on the social media. He said it is obvious that the picture is a photo shop picture which was sexed up with the face of Vice President Foh to paint a negative picture of the Vice President and cats a slur on his integrity.
If it was a newspaper that published and circulated such a picture, the editor will have to pick bones with the Independent Media Commission as such would have blatantly violated sections of the media code of practice, he noted, and said people should not be allowed to misuse the social media.
He said it behooves the Independent Media Commission and the Ministry of Information and Communication to now come up with laws that will regulate the use of the social media as it is the case in other civilized nations, pointing out that such laws should not be considered as muzzling free expression but ensuring sanity in exercising freedom of expression.
He warned that if measures are not put in place to regulate the use of the social media some unscrupulous persons will use it during the course of an election to create social tensions that will provoke disturbances that will jeopardize the tranquility and security of the state.
