Fake news, social media and cyber security symposium
Correspondent | Friday September 15, 2017 13:08
The Oscar Pistorius trial, had a huge component of Digital Evidence. The symposium targets: ICT Professionals, Security Cluster, Legal Fraternity, Media Fraternity, Political Stakeholders, Government Policy Makers, Social Workers
We are all vulnerable. Accounts are hacked, bank cards are cloned. Lies are flighted as truth. Fake news is the order of the day. Child sex offenders have taken to social media.
A child is no longer safe in their homes – child sexual molesters are creeping in through private messenger posts. This is a moment for soul searching as a nation. In the digital age, one of the most complex challenges for media outlets is how to reshape the editorial responsibilities of journalism itself.
Which journalistic standards still fit in the digital age? And which standards form the basis of a new type of journalism being pioneered by hybrid news sites that have come of age in the digital era?
Key issues to be discussed include:-
l Interrogate the Fake news phenomenon: Has Technology Disrupted the truth
l Relevance of Mainstream Media in the era of Digital Media – newspapers no longer have monopoly on news
l The rise of user generated content
l Strategies for achieving Media Profitability in the era of Social Media
l Interrogating key editorial standards of accuracy, independence, and impartiality in the digital era
The symposium is also premised on the realisation that social media has created new crimes and amplified/changed and flexed the way crimes are committed.
This is especially true in crimes where individuals are targeted. The impacts of these crimes on an individual’s time, livelihood or emotional state are catastrophic. Examples of new crimes include Disclosing private sexual images without consent, False or Offensive Social Media Profiles, Cyber dating and link to human trafficking, Disclosing private sexual images without consent, Communications which are Grossly Offensive, Indecent, Obscene or False, social media as a platform for sexual abuse of children etc the following issues will be interrogated for a proper legal and cultural response:-
l Has Social Media corroded public discourse: Does Truth Matter Anymore
l Redefining legal instruments in the Digital Media era - options available for legal redress
l The Political Dynamic – The Digital Space is the New Freedom Square
l Defamation of character and other such libels – sensitising the stakeholders
l Media Literacy: Distinction between News & Fake News
l Interrogate the legal instruments in Botswana for tackling cyber evasion and cybercrime;
l Sharing expertise on Cyber Security & Digital forensics (incl. Prosecution and interrogation of Digital Evidence