Dear Editor,
A FREE press is one of democracy’s strongest safeguards, but the legitimacy of that freedom rests on a simple, demanding promise: to tell the truth.
When reporters, editors, and publishers allow fabricated materials to enter the public domain—especially when it is crafted to cause mischief—they do more than mislead: they corrode trust in the very institutions that anchor civic life.
That is why Vice President Jagdeo deserves commendation for using his recent press conference to call out deliberate falsehoods and manipulative narratives masquerading as news.
To defend press freedom is to defend standards. The best journalism is skeptical but not cynical; independent yet accountable; urgent without being careless. It crosschecks, corroborates, and contextualises. It resists the adrenaline of virality in favour of the slower, sturdier work of verification.
In an era where rumours can race around the country in minutes, a newsroom’s first obligation is to keep its footing. When it instead amplifies unverified claims or packages speculation as fact, the public’s footing gives way with it.
Fabrications carry a tangible cost. They distort public decision-making by clouding the facts citizens rely on to judge policies and leaders. They inflame tensions by playing into outrage and suspicion rather than reason.
They inflict reputational harm that lingers long after any corrections, if they are made, take effect. And they force credible journalists into a defensive crouch, spending resources to rebut claims that should never have cleared the threshold for publication.
The media’s power to inform can quickly become a power to mislead when diligence yields to expedience.
The Vice President’s intervention sets an important tone without undermining the press’s indispensable watchdog role. Public officials should expect—and respect—tough questions and persistent scrutiny; that is the price of power in a democracy.
But there is a bright line between rigorous reporting and the known spread of falsehoods. Calling out fabrication is not an attack on journalism; it is a defence of journalism’s core purpose.
Responsibility in reporting is not a slogan but a craft. It begins with verification: claims should be corroborated with independent sources and documentary evidence, with clarity about what is known, what remains uncertain, and why.
It continues with transparency, both in sourcing and in process, so that readers can understand how conclusions were reached. It extends to fairness, which includes seeking comments from those named and giving their responses due weight. And it demands proportionality, ensuring that headlines and framing reflect the established facts rather than the most sensational angle.
Equally vital is a newsroom culture that treats corrections as a mark of integrity, not embarrassment. When errors occur—as they inevitably will in any human enterprise—swift, prominent, and unambiguous corrections help repair the bond with readers.
Clear distinctions between news and opinion, robust conflict-of-interest policies, and basic digital forensics for images and documents are not optional extras; they are the scaffolding that keeps a publication upright when bad actors push against it.
Technology platforms, which increasingly function as de facto distributors of news, must elevate verified reporting and slow the spread of demonstrably false content without blurring the line between moderation and censorship.
Citizens, too, have agency: to pause before sharing, to consult multiple sources, and to reward outlets that choose accuracy over speed.
Guyana’s media landscape is vibrant and essential. Its continued vitality depends on a shared commitment to truth that outlasts any single news cycle. The Vice President’s call was a timely reminder that democratic discourse cannot be built on foundations of fabrication.
Upholding press freedom and rejecting deliberate falsehoods are not competing goals; they are, in fact, the same goal. Our public life is strongest when facts lead the conversation, when criticism is grounded in evidence and when those who inform the nation embrace the discipline that their power demands.
Sincerely,
Philip Inshanally