KINGSTON, Jamaica—Government senator and member of the Jamaica Labour Party’s Communications Taskforce, Marlon Morgan, says no effort will be spared by the party in pushing back against misinformation and disinformation.

“People who tell blatant lies and spread false information, ostensibly in their quest to score political points, do our democracy a grave disservice. Misinformation and disinformation undermine our democracy and serve to erode public trust and confidence in institutions that deliver public services. The most recent example of disinformation aimed at disparaging the Government is the assertion by misguided persons across social media that members of the Maroon community of Accompong in St Elizabeth were given ‘paint water’ to use for drinking and other domestic purposes. Nothing could be further from the truth,” Morgan said.

Morgan said the party will combat what it described as the deliberate and organised attempts to discredit Jamaica and destroy our goodwill across the international community.

“Given our commitment to democratic ideals, we in the Jamaica Labour Party welcome and participate in the robust contest of legitimate political ideas and views. However, politically-curated lies, misinformation, character assassination and public mischief are not part of our freedom of speech. In fact, they are not only reprehensible and unethical, but are in many instances unlawful,” Morgan said.

He said the JLP communications taskforce has a duty to ensure the public has access to accurate and verified information, and said it will be sparing no effort in ensuring that correct, edifying and uplifting information is in the public domain.

“It should be noted that while attention is focused on disseminating information regarding Jamaica ‘s recovery and reconstruction amid the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa, we will be even more strident as a taskforce in combating misinformation and disinformation,” he stressed.