Description

The panel session, “The Trust Mandate,” held during the Broadcasters Convention – Southern Africa 2025 (SAB25) in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, centred on the urgent need to establish resilient regulatory and policy frameworks to safeguard public trust amid rapid digital and technological transformation in the African media landscape.

Regulatory Resilience as a Trust Safeguard: The primary focus was on moving beyond conventional regulation to create frameworks robust enough to handle the challenges of the digital age, particularly the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation (infodemics). Panellists stressed that without resilient policies, the media’s foundational credibility—its “trust mandate”—would continue to erode.

Fighting the Infodemic Frontline: The discussion highlighted the essential role of public and private broadcasters as key defenders of factual information. It was noted that reimagined policy outcomes must empower media houses with the necessary resources and legal backing to effectively fight falsehoods and maintain media integrity.

Ownership of Narrative: Contextually, the panel’s outcomes were closely linked to the broader convention theme of regional unity and content ownership. Policy recommendations were aimed at ensuring African broadcasters could urgently generate and control their own narratives, fostering locally relevant and verified content to counter foreign influence and platform dominance.

Some key points from the resource include:

● Regulatory Resilience as a Trust Safeguard
● Fighting the Infodemic Frontline
● Ownership of Narrative
● Policy for Financial Sustainability