* As he hosts journalists to breakfast treat at Mzuzu State Lodge to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2025
* MISA Malawi praised the President for supporting diverse media platforms, including podcasts
* And for answering questions in the National Assembly — actions described as significant milestones for media freedom
By Aliko Munde, MANA & Duncan Mlanjira, Maravi Express
President Lazarus Chakwera has emphasised the need for mutual respect and collaboration between the government and the media to help restore public trust, particularly in the face of growing misinformation and disinformation spread through social media.
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At a breakfast treat he hosted the media today at Mzuzu State Lodge to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2025, Chakwera said “when it comes to information about matters of public interest like elections, citizens have nowhere else to turn to find information than State institutions and the media.
He thus emphasised that government and the media should work together in combating misinformation and disinformation, warning that public trust in both sectors is rapidly declining.
He defined the difference between misinformation and disinformation by quoting Hollywood actor Denzel Washington, who said: ‘We live in an age where if you do not follow what is in the media, you will be uninformed, but if you follow what is in the media, you will be misinformed’.
“I think this is a very insightful observation, and we should add to it that if you follow what is in the social media, you will be disinformed,” said the President. “Now, what emerges from this observation is a very dark picture of a society that is either uninformed, or misinformed, or disinformed.
“Now, being uninformed is an easy concept for most of us to grasp, because that just means you do not know what is going on, but disinformation and misinformation sound so similar that we need reminders about the difference between them.”
Chakwera further quoted a statement in book titled ‘The Death of Truth’ authored last year by journalist, Steven Brill, who explains that “disinformation is when someone decides to create and spread a false narrative knowing full well that what they have created is false”.
“On the other hand, misinformation is when someone comes across that false narrative and believes it or spreads it to others without knowing that what they are passing on is false.
“So if following nothing in the media leaves citizens uninformed, and if following the media leaves us disinformed and misinformed, then how do citizens stay well-informed, especially when the stakes are as high as they are in an election year where citizens have to choose the people by whom they should be governed?
“How we stay well-informed in a society that is uninformed, or disinformed, or misinformed is not an easy question to answer, but it is nonetheless a critical question for us to grapple with the way we are doing during this year’s Press Freedom Day under a theme that focuses on how to create a well-informed electorate.”
Chakwera warned that “the percentage of people who now believe the media can’t be trusted anymore is almost as high as the percentage of people who believe the Government can’t be trusted anymore”.
Information Ministry’s Secretary, Baldwin Chiyamwaka and some of the journalists captured at the event
“This is because of the negative experiences citizens have had with false narratives pushed on them by Governments and the media. Any time a Government official is caught in a lie or any time a media establishment is corrected in an interview or held liable in a lawsuit, public trust in the credibility of both goes down.
“And yet when it comes to information about matters of public interest like elections, citizens have nowhere else to turn to find information than State institutions and the media.”
He described the press breakfast with the media “is perhaps a timely intervention — because how to restore public trust in the credibility of Government and the media is a question we need to wrestle with together”.
“And before we find answers to that question, we must first wrestle with the question of whether there is any hope. And I for one believe that there is hope, even though it is only a small glimmer.”
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He thus emphasised on the need to work together “to maintain an environment and a discipline of objective reasoning, which include meticulous research, civil debate, and calm presentation”.
“In a world where everyone and anyone can post anything on social media without observing any ethical standards; without any media training; and without any accountability to regulatory institutions, it is we who represent institutions of public interest who must show that we operate by higher standards and not use our platforms to advance sensational stories that originate from the jungle of social media.
“We must show that we care about accuracy of coverage, fairness of coverage, balance of coverage, calmness of coverage, diversity of coverage, and objectivity of coverage. And I believe that we can achieve all of that only if State and Media treat each other as partners, not adversaries.
Present was Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Information & Digitalisation, Baldwin Chiyamwaka, who hailed the President’s commitment to promoting media freedom and defending the rights of the media.
“I would like to thank the State President for hosting the media for four consecutive years,” Chiyamwaka said. “This underscores free and vibrant press which we have in the country.”
On his part, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Malawi Chapter chairperson, Golden Matonga, praised the President for supporting diverse media platforms, including podcasts, and for answering questions in the National Assembly — actions he described as significant milestones for media freedom.
MISA Malawi chairperson Golden Matonga (right)
Matonga then invited the President to join in the Presidential Debates that MISA will soon organise in readiness for the September 16, 2025 General Elections.
Chakwera went on to donate K6 million in support of the World Press Freedom Day celebrations, whose key activities include a Freedom March, panel discussions, media engagement and capacity-building sessions, as well as annual MISA Malawi Media Awards Gala Dinner.—Pictures courtesy of State House
