Catholic bishops challenge media to fact-check politicians
Archbishop Anthony Muheria during Kenya Editors Guild breakfast meeting with Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops on May 11th, 2022 at Serena hotel.
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops has challenged the media to only disseminate facts and truths as the country gears towards the general elections in August.
Speaking during the breakfast between the Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG) and the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops in Nairobi, KEG President Churchill Otieno urged the church and the media to be very courageous in delivering their services to their congregation and audiences respectively.
Mr Otieno called on collaboration between the church and the media especially at such a time, when the country is heading to the general elections in three months.
With the rise of infodermia (where a lot of unverified information is disseminated across all platforms), Mr Otieno tasked the media fraternity to be very vigilant and ensure that only facts and truths are disseminated.
"We must endear ourselves to facts and it is these facts that our audiences, Kenyans, will use to make decisions backed by facts" he said.
Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG) President Churchill Otieno during Kenya Editors Guild breakfast meeting with Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops on May 11, 2022 at Serena hotel.
Sharing his sentiments on the current relationship between the media and the church, Archbishop Anthony Muheria said the chasm between the church and the media should not be taken for granted.
"History has a role in the happenings. In the 1980s and 1990s when we were seeking multiparty and the second liberation, we had a common purpose and a common enemy and our voices were loud and did not accommodate any misunderstanding," he said.
He added: "... but then came the 2005 referendum when the media focused on the Orange versus Banana fray. The media loved the polarised banana and orange fight. It is then that the media's microphones left the church," Archbishop Muheria said.
