Jinaud Augustine shares his experience leading Juno7 at Global Media and Information Literacy Week UNESCO in Abuja, Nigeria.
Juno7 Editor-In- Chief and Associate of John Fritz Moreau, Jinaud Augustin was invited to speak on the topic Mistrust and Disinformation Undermine Democratic Governance: Experiences and Solutions in Media and Information Literacy.
About 600 delegates from all over the world attended the different sessions, which were held with panellists on important topics. Jinaud Augustin shared a panel of experts and university professors such as Krisztina Rozgonyi, Senior International Expert in Media, Telecommunications and Intellectual Property Law and Policy, Hopeton Dunn, Professor of Communication and Digital Media Policy, Department of Media Studies, University of Botswana, Michael Hoechsmann , Associate Professor, Lakehead University, Canada (Visioconferencing Intervention).
For the most part, in his presentation he went into his experiences at the head of the Juno7 editorial team and perspectives on the subject of media and information literacy. According to him, “It is evident that the omnipresence of the digital and the emergence of platforms and social networks are transforming our societies, several significant developments in recent years reinforce the urgency of mobilization and accountability, especially of the media. “The issue of production and access to reliable information is much more crucial than before, especially due to the fertilization of WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages where the main fake news or inx circulate in society. Haitian,” he said.
In Haitian society, manipulation of information can take many forms, he acknowledges, such as spreading disinformation and outright false information, distorting the presentation of facts, stories and opinions, using information out of context, manipulating emotions. All this to create confusion so that a group of people can take advantage of it, and very often to manage to raise a popular protest against the existing government.
Jinaud Augustin pointed out that almost nothing is done in the school to implement a media and information literacy (EMI) program. But then, he adds, it is up to media like Juno7 to commit themselves, through a method of self-regulation in the absence of binding rules, to providing the public with impartial and quality information services, to protect them from misuse of the possibilities of information through digital ones Media.
“At Juno7 we are aware of this danger that looms over the professional media and traditional journalism, sources of quality information compatible with the proper functioning of a democratic society. We are also aware of attempts to undermine the public’s trust in yesterday’s and today’s information gatekeepers. But we respond to this with quality journalism and high editorial standards both on our website and on our television. As much as we are interested in disseminating information in a timely manner, we do not skimp on verifying information sources,” Juno7’s editor-in-chief said.
In terms of prospects, he says he believes that as things stand now, every component of our society has an important role to play in detecting the spread of disinformation, but it’s up to journalists and the media to help citizens develop that ability to recognize responsible digital uses, to understand and interpret information flows in order to keep the necessary distance before often wrong information is shared
Celebrated each year, World Media Literacy Week is a great opportunity for stakeholders to review and celebrate progress towards the goal of “media and information literacy for all,” according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Learn more:
Total web buff. Student. Tv enthusiast. Evil thinker. Travelaholic. Proud bacon guru.
