In The Name of Views and Followers: The Rise of Irresponsible Reporters – Ernest Kofi Offen writes
Exclusives and the quest to “break the news first” have always driven journalism. Yet even in this competitive space, one golden rule has remained constant: check, cross-check, and re-check before you publish.
Unfortunately, some reporters today ignore this rule entirely and operate by a different creed—views, followers, and sensationalism. These individuals may enjoy short-term attention, but they eventually lose the only currency that sustains journalism: credibility.
A worrying trend is that many of these actors are neither trained journalists nor have any form of media education. As a result, they fail to appreciate the weight of their responsibility. In their rush to “break the news”, they do not only break the news—they break lives, reputations, and properties. What they seem unaware of is that they also break their own integrity. Misinformation and misrepresentation then become their daily staple.
Yet when the State seeks to protect lives and property through laws such as civil and criminal libel, these same individuals politicise the matter. But what is political about irresponsibility? Perhaps they do not even understand the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Having practised journalism in the Ashanti Region for nearly two decades, I have encountered many such characters—some of whom, even today, cannot spell their own names, yet because of the privilege of radio, can file reports. These are the very people who often foment needless trouble for the rest of us.
The New Edubiase–Fumso Incident — 2010
Once, I travelled from Kumasi to Obuasi with one of such individuals. Just before we reached the Akrokerri junction, he received a call about an accident on the Kumasi–Cape Coast Road between Fumso and New Edubiase. He alighted at Kwapia. Before we even reached Kunka junction, he was live on a Kumasi-based radio station claiming to be at the accident scene, reporting that over 15 people had died and calling for emergency services.
Anyone familiar with the geography knows it was physically impossible for him to have reached the scene within that timeframe. In the vehicle, some women became distressed, wailing and blaming the government for bad roads. Hours later, it emerged that although an accident had indeed occurred, there were no casualties.
The Afoako Fabrication — 2009
In 2009, while I was working with the Information Services Department and accompanying the Amansie Central District Chief Executive, Hon. Robert Bennett Forkuoh, on a district tour, calls suddenly flooded in—from the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, journalists, and residents—urging us to tune in to a Kumasi-based radio station.
A reporter on air claimed that chaos had erupted at Afoako D/A Basic School. He alleged that two school-feeding caterers were fighting, resulting in injuries to pupils, with two supposedly in critical condition. He even called for police and military intervention.
Shocked, we contacted the police in Jacobu, who rushed to the school ahead of us. When we arrived, the compound was calm—normal teaching and learning were ongoing. The headteacher, teachers, and caterers were stunned when we informed them of the false broadcast.
The Obuasi “Assassination Attempt” Fabrication — 2025
I could recount countless examples, but let me conclude with what happened over the weekend in Obuasi, during the funeral of the late mother of the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Faustilove Appiah Kannin.
Two irresponsible reporters from Kumasi were present but nowhere near the supposed scene of the incident they later sensationalised. Their claim?
That there had been an assassination attempt.
To call something an “assassination attempt” is to allege a grave criminal act, and from both the police report and my own eyewitness account, nothing remotely close to that occurred.
Here is what actually happened:
During the traditional arrival of chiefs, the Kwaman Kesse Chief’s entourage included a musketeer who had been performing ceremonial gun salutes since morning. When the Dompoasehene, Nana Okofo Kwabena Bonsu II, arrived and approached the Kwaman Kesse Chief to exchange pleasantries, the musketeer attempted a salute in his honour. In the process, the musket misfired and gunpowder accidentally hit the chief.
The Dompoasehene was rushed to the hospital and discharged the same evening. The funeral continued smoothly—nothing like the chaos these individuals reported.
Later, as I hosted the media team for a meal at the AGA School Assembly Hall, one of the reporters whispered to another:
“Let’s make views and story out of this and collect our names.”
He apologised after being confronted—but only for show. He and his colleague later went ahead with the fabricated “assassination” story anyway.
Within hours, major media organisations, including Media General, had been misled. For nearly five hours, their false report trended nationwide and beyond. Obuasi found itself in the news for the wrong reasons yet again.
Their gain?
Temporary views and followers.
Their loss?
Integrity, dignity, and professional credibility.
If there was any assassination attempt that weekend, it was an attempt on the truth, carried out by unpatriotic, view-hungry pretenders claiming to practise journalism.
But the good news is this: Obuasi survived their attack —and the truth prevailed.
Long live Nana Okofo Kwabena Bonsu II.
Long live Obuasi.
Long live Ghana.
By Ernest Kofi Offen (Information Director, Obuasi Municipal
