Media Bias on E-Levy

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By Richard Agodzo

 


Parliament on March 29, 2022 passed the Electronic Transfer Levy known as the E-Levy in the absence of the Minority MPs who walked out before the Bill was considered at the second reading stage.

As the news of the acceptance of the E-Levy Bill by Parliament, several news portals took to break the news to the general public.

Media representatives at Parliament had the substantial information as to what happened on the floor of parliament on the said day.

Several news portals took to break the news first causing media bias. As a society, we consume a lot of different media. To put this into perspective, the global consumer spends over 7.5hours a day with media on average. We rely on it as a news source and as cultural entertainment.

Media bias relates to the bias or perceived bias of journalists and news organisations in mass media. It normally implies a widespread bias that impacts the standard of journalism, rather than bias in the perspective of one journalist or article.

One particular media bias observed by many news portals was the Bias of Omission. Bias of Omission is when a media outlet chooses not to write certain stories, or they leave out relevant information or perspective on purpose.

Most media portals reported the passage of the E-Levy but did not report the percentage to be charged. After deliberations in the house, it can to an agreement that, 1.5% will be charged as the E-Levy and not the proposed 1.7%.

To the audience, it is known to them that the E-Levy has been passed and has taken effect, which is not so.

News portals like Graphic, Citi News, My Joy Online, TV3 and other trust worthy news portal waited to get all the information about the E-Levy before breaking it to the audience.

 

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