Fact checking should be a standard operation procedure of the media
In a recent letter to the Editor, I referred to Dr. Randy Persaud as a propagandist, although he refers to himself as the “Adviser on International Affairs, Office of the President, Guyana”. It might have been an understatement for me to have described him as a propagandist, given the nature and content of the columns, in the media, that are attributed to him. An examination of the opinion piece “President Ali - Throw out your ‘narrative’ of division” by Dr. Persaud exposes the more than propagandistic nature of the columns penned by him. In that column, he contends that the vehicular crossings of the McKenzie to Wismar bridge increased from 768,000 in 2020 to 1,5 million three years later. While that may be true, the ruse is his contention that the increase is attributable to “the massive economic transformation of Linden, Region 10 and Guyana”.
That statement can only be considered as hollow words and a ruse, since there is no evidence of any “massive economic transformation” in Linden. In the column, he went on to itemize the PPPC`s record. Of the 15 items, none, individually, represents any form of economic transformation, nor do they collectively represent transformation. His propaganda also extends to his statement about the bridge project which was conceived, and for which financing was mobilized, by the APNU-AFC government. He erroneously stated that “the APNU-AFC had planned a two-lane … for the cost of US $30 million. The PPP/C is building a four-lane bridge for US $35 million”. However, the former Minister of Public Works, David Patterson, disclosed that “the construction cost for the two lane version of the Wismar Bridge was US $23.6M ... while the four-lane was pegged at US $29.2M. This revelation causes me to return to a previous call for “fact checking” by the media.
There are far too many instances when the media facilitates the public being misinformed, when fact checking could avoid such occurrences and enable transparency and accountability. Fact checking should be a standard operation procedure of the media, in their effort to be the beacon of truth.