Government urged to respond faster as false information spreads
PRETORIA — Government communicators should establish the facts quickly rather than wait for a finished formal statement while misinformation spreads, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong has urged.
Speaking at a Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) strategic session in Pretoria on Friday, Morolong said the speed and reach of modern information sharing required a more responsive government communication system. Artificial intelligence had added to the challenge, making coordination and credible information increasingly important.
According to SAnews, he warned that delays in providing reliable information left space for others to shape public understanding. An initial response could be digital, set out the known facts and explain that further information would follow, without waiting for every element of a formal communication product to be completed.
“The credibility of government communication is one of our most important assets. We must protect it,” Morolong said.
He argued that producing more content would not, on its own, address the problem. Government needed to strengthen its ability to serve as a dependable source for citizens, journalists and other stakeholders, drawing on its existing editorial and journalistic capabilities.
Morolong said the rise of citizen journalism required departments to review whether their internal processes allowed them to respond quickly enough. His call combined faster communication with the need to maintain accuracy, rather than allowing urgency to weaken verification.
He also called for GCIS’s Content Hub to anticipate emerging issues, identify gaps in public information and develop authoritative material suited to the platforms people use. This would require understanding what citizens were discussing and preparing information before government was forced into a purely reactive response.
Departments and public entities should work within a coordinated communication system, he said, while retaining the ability to address their individual mandates. Government clusters had a role in ensuring that messages about shared priorities were consistent and supported one another.
Morolong said national coordination also needed to reach communities through local media and indigenous languages. He highlighted the Media Development and Diversity Agency’s role in strengthening community media, including digital skills, verification, editorial quality and audience reach.
Government websites, national news outlets and social media could not reach every citizen on their own, he said. Community media offered a way to explain information in local languages and connect it to the issues affecting people where they lived. His stated goal was a faster, more credible communication service that remained accessible across different platforms.
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