Deputy Minister in The Presidency Kenny Morolong has told government communicators to give citizens fast and credible information, as false news spreads further and faster.
He spoke on Friday in Pretoria at a strategic session of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), according to SAnews.
“The credibility of government communication is one of our most important assets. We must protect it,” Morolong said.
He said the problem was no longer only that false information exists. He said the bigger problem was the speed and reach with which it can now be made and shared.
Morolong said artificial intelligence had made this harder. He called for a more coordinated approach across government and the wider media environment.
“Government needs the capacity to provide credible, authoritative and timely information directly into the information ecosystem,” he said.
He said the goal was not just to produce more content. He said government should become a trusted source of information for citizens, the media and other groups.
The Deputy Minister said the rise of citizen journalism meant communicators had to rethink how they work. He said government systems must be able to respond at the speed people now expect.
“Because in today’s environment, the absence of credible information creates space for someone else to fill the vacuum,” Morolong said.
He said government could no longer wait for every part of a formal statement to be finished before joining a conversation. He said the first response sometimes had to be digital and immediate.
According to Morolong, that first response may simply set out the facts and say that more information will follow.
He said GCIS should use its Content Hub to set the agenda, not only react to it. He said the hub should help government spot new issues, learn what citizens are talking about and find gaps in information.
“We should ensure that government has the right content, in the right format, on the right platform and at the right time,” he said.
Morolong said GCIS could not do its job while government communicators kept working in silos. He said departments have different mandates but operate within one government.
“A whole-of-government approach cannot simply be a phrase in a strategy document,” he said.
He said government clusters should help make sure that messages about government priorities are clear and support each other.
The Deputy Minister said national coordination was not enough on its own. He said government messages must reach people in the communities where they live.
He said the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) and community media could reach people in their own languages. He said talks with the MDDA had shown ways to build community media’s digital skills, indigenous-language content, fact checking and audience reach.
“We need a GCIS that is faster without compromising accuracy,” Morolong said. He added that GCIS must also stay coordinated without becoming bureaucratic.
Source: this article is based on reporting by SAnews.gov.za. Image: GCIS via SAnews.gov.za. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.