The media is a powerful tool. It must understand when it is being manipulated and ensure its platform is used for accurate and credible information.

Even the Congregational Christian Church Samoa’s (C.C.C.S.) television station is responsible for ensuring this. There are concerns about the Soalepule programme that has been giving a platform to politicians, especially from the government.

The concept of the programme is not bad, however, it is being used to spread misinformation. Things that have been said on the programme have at times been defamatory, lacking in evidence and spreading misinformation.

The television station belongs to the biggest church denomination in the country and therefore it is not hard to assume that there is a large viewership, so much so, that the television station has progressed from community to commercial status.

The Soalepule programme also has a large following. People view it on television and some catch up on it through social media. Even if the programme is paid for by a political party, the station that is running the programme has to ensure the accuracy of the information that is accurate and not spread misinformation.

The producers of the show also need to have an idea beforehand about the content of the programme. They need to know what questions would be asked.

The Apia East district of the Congregational Christian Church Samoa (C.C.C.S.) is right to have concerns about the Soalepule programme.

These concerns were first raised during last year’s annual conference. This year, the topic has again been brought before the General Assembly.

The appeal is among numerous issues slated for discussion by the General Assembly this week.

In their formal proposal, Apia East highlighted that the Soalepule programme has incited divisions and differing opinions among church members due to the sensitive nature of its content and topics.

They also questioned the extent of oversight and censorship exercised by the manager and the board of the television station. The district accused the programme of exploiting its platform to attract popularity and viewership from supporters of the ruling political party featured on the show.

This, they argued, compromises the church’s impartiality and has tarnished its reputation by appearing politically biased, resulting in significant criticism from various quarters.

Media houses have a great responsibility to ensure that they are giving platforms to people who can be trusted. In the age of social media, it is easy for anyone with an opinion and access to the internet to share their views with a wide audience.

 However, this also means that there is an increased risk of misinformation being spread by those who may not be qualified or credible sources on certain topics. Therefore, media houses should take extra caution when deciding who gets airtime or other forms of platforming from them as well as what type of content they are allowing to disseminate through their channels.

The primary concern here should always be accuracy and credibility; if someone does not have enough knowledge about a subject matter then it would make sense for them not to get any sort of platforming from major news outlets or other organisations which could potentially reach hundreds of thousands of Samoans in just seconds after publication online or broadcast.

This way we can avoid false information spreading like wildfire among vulnerable populations such as children and those without access to proper education on critical matters such as politics, health care, education and governance among other things.

Additionally, media houses must consider whether providing platforms will help create trust between themselves and viewers. For example, if you provide too much coverage towards one particular political party then you run into risks where your viewership may start losing faith in your impartiality and objectivity.

It’s therefore important for media houses to understand how powerful tool having platform power really is. They need to use wisely while making sure they don’t cause more harm than good when deciding whom to give space within their mediums.

It’s essential that all stakeholders involved, from editors to producers, keep ethical considerations at the top of their minds so everyone feels comfortable trusting what comes out of respective outlets.

Hopefully, this issue will be looked into by the hierarchy of the church who possess the wisdom to decide what is good for the people and what is not.