Connect with us

Metro

FG launches campaign against fake news

Published

on

FG launches campaign against fake news

The Federal Government on Wednesday in Abuja launched a national campaign against fake news, calling the phenomenon a time bomb that can detonate with deadly consequences if left unchecked.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who announced the campaign at a world press conference in Abuja also described fake news as a global epidemic that could be worse than all the plagues that the world has recorded put together, a clear and present danger to global peace and security, and a threat to democracy.

He said that the fake news phenomenon is capable of undermining confidence in the media, adding, ”Once the people lose confidence in the media, the media and the society are in trouble.”

Alhaji Mohammed said the essence of the campaign is to ”sensitize all Nigerians to the dangers posed to the peace and security, and indeed the corporate existence of Nigeria by the phenomenon, and the fact that each and every Nigerian has a role to play in curtailing the spread of fake news”.

He explained that though the Federal Government has been calling national attention to the issue of fake news and hate speeches since last year, ”the timing of the launch is also not unconnected to the role of fake news in aggravating the various crises in the country as well as the need to check this phenomenon ahead of the 2019 elections.”

The Minister said the government will use all the information dissemination tools at its disposal, work with both the traditional and social media, as well as the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to sensitize Nigerians.

He said the campaign will, however, not involve the use of coercion and censorship, but appealed to the media to lead the campaign, and to Nigerians not to share any news or message unless they can vouch for its source and authenticity.

Citing instances from around the world to illustrate the dangers posed by fake news, Alhaji Mohammed said a recent study by researchers at the Ohio State University in the US concluded that Russian interference and the fake news it promoted probably played a significant role in depressing Hilary Clinton’s support on election day during the 2016 presidential elections in the US.

He also said that in India, about a dozen people have been killed in the past six weeks just because of fake news or hoax messages, noting: ”The victims were lynched after they were falsely accused of child abduction based on fake messages circulated via the social media platform, WhatsApp.”

READ ALSO: Pastor in trouble for his prophecy against Gov Okorocha

The Minister said that last week, a national newspaper in Nigeria reported on its front page that a court has ordered the National Assembly to begin impeachment of Buhari, which was not the case.

”The problem with that news item is that it is fake news. According to the certified true copy of the order, the Presiding Judge of the Federal High Court in Osogbo ordered and I quote: ‘The applicants are hereby granted leave to issue and bring an Application for the order of Mandamus to compel 1st to 3rd Respondents to start impeachment proceedings against the 4th Respondent, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’. This was manipulated to read that the court has given the go-ahead for the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against the President. Fake News,” he said.

 

RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears

Click here to join the Ripples Nigeria WhatsApp group for latest updates.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now