The United States Embassy in Ghana has cautioned against the use of censorship as a tool to combat the growing menace of misinformation and disinformation, insisting that safeguarding freedom of expression remains essential to democratic governance.
Speaking at the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) World Press Freedom Day 2026 Honours Night in Accra, the US Embassy’s Press Attaché, Matthew Asada, said efforts to address false information must not undermine press freedom and fundamental democratic rights.
According to him, while challenges such as online child safety, deepfakes, and disinformation require urgent policy attention, broad restrictions on speech often risk becoming instruments of control rather than protection.
“Under Secretary Rogers is also clear-eyed about the real challenges of the digital age. She has acknowledged that threats to child safety online, deepfakes, and disinformation are genuine policy problems that deserve genuine solutions,”
“But our position, the position of the United States, is that censorship is not the answer. Broad, vaguely worded restrictions on speech—whether imposed by governments on journalists or by platforms on users—too often become tools of control rather than protection.”he said.
He stressed that the focus should be on addressing the harms caused by misinformation without eroding the free expression upon which democratic societies depend.
“The goal must be to address the real harms without extinguishing the free expression that democracies depend on. That distinction matters here in Ghana,” he stated.
Asada also expressed concern about what he described as a growing trend of arrests linked to false news and offensive speech in Ghana.
He cited figures from the Media Foundation for West Africa, indicating that 14 such arrests have been recorded within the first 16 months of the current administration—nearly double the number documented during the previous administration’s entire eight-year tenure.
“Beyond physical safety of journalists, there’s a second concern that deserves equal attention. Ghana has recorded 14 arrests linked to false news and offensive speech in less than 16 months,” he noted.
While acknowledging the need to hold perpetrators accountable for attacks on journalists, Asada cautioned against the misuse of laws regulating false information.
“Prosecuting those who assault journalists is a democratic imperative, but so too is ensuring that laws against false news are not used as tools to silence critics, political opponents, or inconvenient voices,” he added.
