The second half of November witnessed a sharp uptick of 64.7% in the overall reported incidents of unethical and unlawful content broadcasted on the airwaves, according to statements from the National Media Commission (NMC) and the National Communications Authority (NCA).
The surge underscores the pressing need for heightened vigilance and regulatory measures to curb the dissemination of inappropriate content in the media landscape.
A collaborative monitoring effort conducted by the two institutions unveiled notable spikes in specific categories of unlawful and unethical content. Fake lottery incidents surged six-fold (676%), while occurrences related to occultism doubled (105%).
On the contrary, the report signed by Mr George Sarpong, Executive Secretary, NMC, said money doubling decreased by 23.03 per cent while money rituals decreased by 16.07 per cent.
It said the top 10 stations that had complaints against them were Adwenpa TV, Asomafo TV, Elephant TV, XTV, Diamond TV, Big TV, Passion TV, Funny TV, Best TV and Energy TV.
In the case of fake lottery, 10 complaints were received regarding Adwenpa TV, 16 for Asomafo TV, 31 for Elephant TV, four complaints involving XTV, three for Diamond TV, six for Big TV, one for Funny TV, two for Best TV and five complaints for Energy TV.
Some 15 complaints were received concerning Adwenpa Tv regarding occultism, nine reports were made against Diamond TV, four against Big TV, six against Passion TV, one each against Best TV and Energy TV.
For money doubling, 15 complaints were made against Adwenpa TV, 28 against Asomafo TV, seven against Elephant TV, 12 against XTV, 23 against Diamond TV, 17 against Big TV, 13 against Passion TV, 28 against Funny TV, 25 against Best TV and 24 against Energy TV.
Adwenpa TV was reported on three occasions for promoting money rituals on their airwaves, one report was made against Asomafo TV, two against Elephant TV, 24 against XTV, five against Diamond TV and Big TV respectively, 17 against Passion TV, three against Funny TV, four against Best TV and two against Energy TV.
A total of 20 complaints were received against Adwenpa TV for promoting inappropriate sexual content on their airwaves.
The report said even though Asomafo TV, Adwenpa TV, Diamond TV, X TV, Funny TV, Big TV, Passion TV, Elephant TV, Best TV, Energy TV, Nkabom TV and Seekers TV were cited in the National Media Commission (NMC) / National Communications Authority (NCA) fortnight report, they continued to carry out their offensive broadcast after they were publicly cautioned.
“They should take note that this constitutes their final warning. Regulatory action may be taken against them without any further reference to them,” it said.
On the related case of Onua TV/ FM, the Commission said it had filed a notice of suspension of
authorisation with the NCA after the extended time expired without the stations apologising or withdrawing their offensive content.
It said Onua TV/ FM had subsequently filed a case in court claiming a right to carry the content the Commission found offensive, adding that the Commission would continue to update the public on the issue.
The Commission expressed gratitude to the NCA for the positive collaboration in ensuring professionalism in broadcasting.
“We reaffirm our dedication to ensure free, pluralistic and responsible media in Ghana.
“We encourage the public to continue to collaborate with us by calling the toll-free number 0800-419-666, to draw our attention to any content they consider unacceptable by the standards of media ethics, Ghanaian culture, traditions and norms,” it added.