Ghana’s Deputy National Security Coordinator, Elizabeth Yankah, has proposed a compact with the country’s media houses, asking journalists to accept rapid verification channels and crisis protocols in exchange for timely, coherent official communication.
Speaking at a day engagement with heads of public affairs from security, defence, and intelligence agencies, alongside leaders of the National Media Commission, Ghana Journalist Association, Ghana Independent Broadcast Association, the Media Foundation for West Africa, New Media and others, Yankah said the old era of mutual suspicion must end.
“For long the relationship between the state security and the media has been marked by mutual suspicion,” Yankah told senior journalists, editors, bloggers, and social media influencers gathered in Accra on April 29, 2026.
She further noted in her speech “you have seen us as very secretive while we on the other hand have perceived you in very lights of mischief. There has been acrimony. We have had moments of avoidable contentions.”
The meeting, themed “Strategic Engagement Between State Security and Media Practitioners: Building a Partnership for Accurate Reporting, Crisis Communication, and Countering Misinformation”, brought together all the major security communication chiefs and media gatekeepers for the first time.
The four proposals
Yankah laid out four practical steps for immediate implementation.
First, she proposed a confidential verification channel that works. Journalists would have direct, dedicated contacts within each security agency such as WhatsApp, phone numbers and emails. “You should never have to guess whether a piece of security information is true. You should never have to rely on anonymous sources because official sources are silent. This is not about control. It is about accuracy and efficiency,” she said
Second, she called for a crisis communication protocol. For any emergency, a fire, flood, security operation, or terror threat, each security institution would designate one spokesperson. That source would issue verified updates at agreed intervals.
Third, Yankah asked for a commitment to diligence from both sides. She said transparency remains important but the preservation of peace should inform every action.
“A single false report can endanger the lives of soldiers, police officers, and civilians. It can turn a peaceful protest into a riot.” In return, she committed security agencies to be “more open, timely, and coherent. No more contradictory statements from different agencies. No more silence until it is too late.”
Fourth, she proposed a consistent follow-up mechanism. Quarterly review meetings would be held. Dedicated liaisons from the National Security Council Secretariat would handle media engagement.
The cost of silence and misinformation
Yankah warned that violent extremism, ethnic tension, radicalisation, religious intolerance, kidnapping for ransom, and human trafficking are all advancing across the West African sub-region.
Within Ghana, she cited ongoing conflicts in Bawku, and other jurisdictions, which have claimed lives and destroyed properties. She further reminded the gathering of the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, and the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia.
Comparison with other countries
Similar protocols have been tested elsewhere with mixed results.
In Rwanda, following the 1994 genocide where radio broadcasts incited ethnic killing, the government imposed strict media controls. That model has ensured stability but at the cost of press freedom. Yankah explicitly rejected any comparison to censorship. “This is not about regulating the media,” she said. “Ghana is a thriving democracy. Freedom of expression is a constitutional right. We defend that right. I personally defend that right.”
In Kenya, after the 2007-2008 post-election violence that killed more than 1,200 people, the government and media houses agreed on voluntary guidelines for reporting on ethnic and political tensions. The Media Council of Kenya now runs a 24-hour verification desk for journalists covering security operations. Independent assessments suggest the system has reduced but not eliminated inflammatory reporting.
In the United Kingdom, the “RADAR” (Rapid Analysis and Detection of At-risk information) system run by the National Police Chiefs’ Council allows journalists to submit questions about viral misinformation and receive official responses, often within hours. A 2024 academic review found the system reduced the circulation time of harmful falsehoods by an average of 67 percent but noted that smaller news outlets were less likely to use it.
In Nigeria, the National Orientation Agency attempted to set up similar verification channels for counter-terrorism reporting in 2021. The effort largely failed because security agencies rarely responded on time, and journalists went back to anonymous sources. Analysts point to lack of quarterly follow-up and dedicated liaisons exactly the fourth proposal Yankah made.
