Africa-Press – Tanzania. GOVERNMENT Communication Officers have been directed to ensure timely dispensing of information and responding to all forms of misinterpretation and distortion which continue to create unnecessary tension and panic to the public.
Chief Government Spokesperson, Mr Gerson Msigwa said fabrication and distortion has taken a new dimension and that there is need of issuing clarifications accordingly.
He said government communication officers have a mandate to ensure that any distortion of information is timely cleared and that the public is fed with correct information. Mr Msigwa noted that there has been an increased trend of social media being used to distort information being issued by the government, citing news circulating on Covid-19 and the vaccine, feeding the public with misleading information.
“Failure to respond on time brings inconveniences to the public, you have to keep issuing clarifications immediately after establishing any distorted information,” he noted.
Adding; “With the Covid-19, there are a lot of misinformation being circulated on social media platforms, use experts around you to share the correct information, we should not leave the task to the ministry of health alone, so that the public can take the needed preventive measures in fighting the pandemic.
Going forward, Mr Msigwa said the directorate of information services is now finalising guidelines on how to coordinate and control government social media platforms so that they serve the expected purpose.
According to him, the guidelines which will be in effect by the end of this month intend to revive and upgrade the contents so that it copes with the current demands and technological advancement.
“The move will require government communication officers to ensure that social media is updated with detailed information adhering to professional code of conduct,” he explained.
He went on to challenge the government communication officers to demonstrate high sense of professionalism and efficiency in discharging their duties for their bosses to build trust in them when they need clarification on any misleading information.
