18 Oct 2017

Vice President Mr Mokgweetsi Masisi is expected to give a keynote address at the Fake News and Social Media symposium to be held at Cresta Lodge on October 26.

The main aim of the conference is to discuss the digital space in the context of the Law (elaw), media (digital media), digital crimes, digital evidence and securing the digital space.

The headline speaker at the conference is the legendary prosecutor Advocate Gerrie Nel who was a South Africa state prosecutor and advocate for the National Prosecution Agency (NPA).

Advocate Nel successfully prosecuted both former South African police commissioner Mr Jackie Selibe on graft charges and South African blade runner Oscar Pistorius who was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, whose trial was riddled with a huge component of digital evidence.

Other speakers include international digital and reality analysts Merrs Terrence Naidoo and Timothy Maurice, who will lead the technical presentation on monetizing content of digital platforms, standards, monetization, affiliation and endorsements.

Government spkesperson Dr Jeff Ramsay and Beata Kasale, owner and publisher of The Voice, will provide the local perspective on digitization of the media while Pastor Mogotsi Baloyi will speak to ethics and the fake news phenomenon, and the return of truth.

Other speakers are from the Directorate of Public Prosecution and the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority .

Other presentations will be done by president of the Johannesburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ernest Mahlaule, who will speak on the digital economy and Metro FM’s Timothy Maurice who will share experiences on digital radio stations in South Africa and also make a presentation on social media strategy.

The symposium seeks submission from academia, the industry, and the government to present innovative approaches, case studies, and the best practices on all practical and theoretical aspects of social media and cyber security.

The seminar will gather together ICT professionals, media personnel, security clusters, legal professional, academia, government information officers, risk officers and digital experts, social workers, politicians, and corporate leaders.Ends