Interview: Fake News, Conspiracy Theories Impact Social Cohesion

Sir, the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) recently entered into a partnership with Civic Watch Cameroon to train young people on social media/online challenges. What prompted such the agreement?
Young people all over the world face multifaceted challenges that lead to stress and anxiety. We live in a digital age where young people are paradoxically exposed to the benefits and vagaries of the internet. They spend most of their searching for information on the internet. The training on media literacy is designed to equip young people with essential skills to process information on the internet and make informed decisions about the accuracy of such information. 

What is UNESCO MGIEP bringing to the table as part of the agreement?
UNESCO MGIEP is a specialised training and research institute focusing on promoting education for peace and sustainable development. The institute has developed courses on a variety of topics including social and emotional learning, climate change, and media literacy. The Institute has experts who can facilitate the delivery of these courses. The institute deploys the expertise of its staff to facilitate training. This was exactly what with we did through our partnership with Civic Watch Cameroon. 

Indeed, your organization and Civic Watch Cameroon just concluded a workshop in Douala, Cameroon (October-5, 2024) on media literacy skills. Why this topic? And at this time in Cameroon’s history?
Young people need media literacy skills to navigate the complex challenges of the digital age. Among others, such skills will help them deal with issues of “hate speech” and fake news. They acquired the skills of critical thinking to process information on the internet. These issues are prevalent in Cameroon as in many other countries.

What did the workshop seek to achieve? And what do you expect of the participants, now that the training is ended? 
The workshop brought together 40 participants from diverse backgrounds and different parts of Cameroon. We expect them to take the skills they acquired back to their communities to train more people. In essence, what UNESCO MGIEP did with Civic Watch Cameroon in Douala was “train the trainers”! This is the beginning. We expect the trainees to scale up the numbers now that they have gotten the skills to become trainers.

Why is it important to empower young media enthusiasts to think critically and analyze content fairly?
I don’t think that it is possible to achieve a sustainable society without peace. It is important that we look at sustainable development in an integrated and holistic way. 

Why is identifying messages online and assessing their sources and the credibility of the information such an issue in Cameroon today?
The spread of fake news and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories creates tensions that impact negatively on social cohesion. They underm...