The President of the Union of Journalists (UJOSS), Oyet Patrick, has called on journalists across the country to take digital security and safety seriously as they do their work. 

The training, organized by UJOSS, drew more than 30 journalists from different media houses in Juba.

Oyet Patrick made the call on Thursday during the opening of a two-day training on Digital and Social media workshop for journalists and human rights defenders in South Sudan.

“Very many people are online and that comes with a challenge and responsibility because we have seen the news that is sometimes false online, and tends to bring problems,” he added. 

“Journalists are people who interact with devices like computers, whether they’re mobile phones, they’re still devices. And they interact with these devices daily,” he said.

Tabitha Justin, a participant in the training from Top FM, commended UJOSS for conducting the training saying it has benefited them, especially on how to protect their information and how to be cautious on social media.

“What we learned today is about digital safety. As a journalist you need to look at the safety and see how you can save your work," she said. 

Meanwhile, Daniel Garang a broadcast journalist from The Radio Community said: “Most of our businesses and news content are online. So the training of today is very important because it tells you how you as a journalist should keep your information so confidential.”

The first day of the training looked at the introduction to digital safety, safety precautionary measures, online harassment, and digital monitoring. 

Participants were also taken through the recently passed Cybercrimes and computer misuse provisional Order 2021.