Local disability advocacy group, Signs of Hope Trust hosted a fact-checking workshop aimed at capacitating People with Disabilities (PWDs) amid calls for urgent need for verified information among the grouping.
In an interview with 263chat, stakeholders shared their experiences and concerns regarding misinformation and its impact on their community.
Beauty Maruta, whose son is deaf, likened misinformation to a cancer in society, particularly dangerous for PWDs due to the confusion it breeds.
“Misinformation has become a cancer in our society and worse still for People with Disabilities as it leads to confusion that is dangerous. There has been a lot of information that is skipping people with disabilities, from what I have learnt is that information and its sources should be verified. The gaps that exist among people with disabilities need to be addressed as a matter of urgency,” said Maruta
Mellisa Zenda echoed Maruta’s sentiments, particularly emphasizing the challenges PWDs face in navigating social media and the importance of verifying information before dissemination.
“There are a lot of gaps that affect us especially things to do with social media. However, there is need to verify information before its spread to various social media platforms,” Zenda said
Disability advocate Simbarashe Mukanganise highlighted the importance of verified information and the challenges PWDs encounter in accessing information.
“It is important to have verified information and for PWDs access to data and other platforms is a challenge. They also face difficulties in getting information on time, we need more platforms that disseminate information for example a few people are aware of the Disability Act that is currently before Parliament. We look forward to more discussions around these issues,” said Mukanganise
Another participant, Eustine Manjovha said the workshop had capacitated her on the need to verify sources before sharing with family and friends on social media platforms.
“Most of the times we struggle to buy data bundles leading to us not getting information on time. We then rely on people we trust who may as well feed us with misinformation. Now that we have been capacitated with information there is need to verify information and check the sources. Education and awareness are very critical to avoid confusion that comes from misinformation,” said Manjovha
The workshop highlighted the urgency of addressing the information gap and the importance of education, awareness, and dedicated platforms to empower PWDs and mitigate the harmful effects of misinformation.
