Stephen Hawking, the late physicist and author, said that the greatest danger to knowledge is not ignorant people but those under the illusion that they know. With the rise of fake news and evolution of information technology, generation X and Z, in whose hands the future lies are at a never-ending risk of being misinformed. The fact that we are exposed to tonnes of lies and deluded to believe that these lies are true is a real threat to our progress. It is a reason to worry.

To mitigate against this scenario, an urgent and unified response is needed. Filling that gap was my motivation to write. To correct and inform young people like me on events around us, that affect us directly and indirectly is my calling. Many, at my age, are either forming or cementing  their social and political opinions now and to do so based on falsified information is catastrophic, not only to them but to a whole generation.

With that said, my generation needs an information disseminator who can be trusted. Most of my peers have lost the patience to sit and read reports or even write them. This is not an age issue, but that is a discussion for another day. Before a sustainable news outlet or media house filled in this gap, I decided to step in. I started a blog in December last year to tailor-make content specifically for people of my age.

In the days preceding the fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians(722B.C), prophet Hosea cautioned against what was Israel’s biggest weakness at the time: ignorance. Centuries later, human civilisation finds itself in a similar predicament. I will keep reading and writing. I invite you to click here and read my blog.

 

Denzel Maina, is a first year student, taking Bachelors of Arts in Communication, class of 2021.

For assistance in matters of writing and speaking, visit Strathmore Writing Centre on the 2^nd floor of the Student Centre.