A new report on the state of girls shows that 96% of girls and young women surveyed believe that most of the information given out on social media platforms is loose.
Most girls said they were mainly misled on COVID 19 pandemic, followed by politics and elections, adding that it was hard for them to recognize bias and manipulation.
According to the State of World girls report released by Plan International Uganda, 65% of the girls surveyed said Facebook was the most misleading digital platform followed by TikTok, WhatsApp and YouTube.
55%of girls and young women surveyed revealed that they spend more than 7 hours a day online, because of COVID-19 restrictions and online learning
Speaking at the launch, the country director Plan International Uganda Iveta Ouvry called for equal access to learning relevant technical skills and digital literacy for girls to be able to take advantage of technology and digital tools to successfully and safely navigate online spaces.
While launching the report, the gender specialist at Plan International Uganda Joyce Nabwire said there was a need for government to provide comprehensive gender-responsive and inclusive digital media literacy programs in school curriculum and other platforms to meet specific needs of girls and young women.
The survey also discovered that half of the girls and young women feel that online information has helped them understand and feel more confident about the topics they care about.
The same report however shows that misinformation restricts girls from sharing their views on social media platforms.
The Uganda communications commission survey on access and usage of ICT 2015 indicated that only 44% of women in Uganda owned and could use a phone at any time compared to 62%of the men.
State Minister for Youth and Children Affairs Sarah Mateke said that government had enacted the Computer Misuse Act to criminalize cyber harassment and offensive communication but it has not been implemented well to operationalize the act.
More than 26000 girls and young women were surveyed from 26 countries.
The report is part of the activities to mark the international day of the girl child due on Monday 11th October next week.
