By Amadou Jadama
The Gambia has dropped from 9 to 10 position in the global press freedom ranking for Africa, according to Reporters San Frontiers RSF, However the country remains 58 in the global ranking .
The president of the Gambia Press Union, Isatou Keita, said some of the factors highlighted as reasons for The Gambia’s stagnation related to the arrest and detention of journalists and court proceedings brought against them, notably, was The Voice Newspaper’s case.
“Other reasons include economic challenges that include high taxes and a lack of subsidies for the media, a lack of political will to ensure the safety of journalists, the lack of implementation of the Access to Information law, and the existing draconian media laws, “she explained.
Commenting on the state of the challenges, Keita said The Gambia defied the 2018 Ecowas Court judgement when the National Assembly passed the Criminal Offences Bill which contains a draconian provision on “False Publication and Broadcasting”. “The GPU had presented and submitted a position paper to the National Assembly Human Rights Committee recommending for the removal of the provision which was widely used to repress the media during the Jammeh dictatorship, and is currently being utilised by the current government to achieve the same results as the dictatorship, which is to harass, intimidate and force the media into self-censorship and to abandon its obligation to the truth and duty to the people of The Gambia,” the GPU president said. She said despite Gambia’s Supreme Court ruling of 2018 declaring the previous internet law unconstitutional, the current government is making more dangerous laws that would significantly affect press freedom and freedom of expression, example the Cybercrime Bill 2023 which has provisions that go beyond addressing false news online, with a direct attempt to punish investigative journalism and to kill transparency and accountability in government..
She also criticised government’s selective patronage of media houses in terms of advertisement saying there is a need for an annual media subvention that can be fairly utilised.
On this year’s global theme: “The impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media,” the GPU president urged Gambian journalists to pause and consider how the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping journalism. “From algorithmic content creation to deep fakes, data mining and audience targeting, artificial intelligence is changing not just how the journalists tell stories, but also how truth is accessed, contested and defended,” she said.
Speaking earlier, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information Media and Broadcasting said government is continuing its efforts in safeguarding and promoting press freedom in The Gambia.
“There is no threat to the media freedom in this country because under President Barrow, the country has moved from a one state TV station to countless stations with all of them enjoying complete editorial freedom. Under President Barrow journalists have entered a brave new world of journalism with no censorship. This improvement in our media freedom standing is indeed well earned,” he said.
