Nigerian witnessed a dramatic succession of events in the month of October that heightened the apprehension in the political space, especially with the military intervention at Lekki toll gate to quell supposed youth unrest ignited by police brutality. In this atmosphere, news, whether verified or not, has been circulating, escalated by digital technology, social media and the rush by traditional media and the information crazed public to keep up, Gabriel Atumeyi reports.
The federal government and leaders of some regions have been calling for social media regulation and censorship in light of the violent fallout of the recent EndSARS protest, making strong cases on why they think it is the right course. As the minister of Information, Lai Mohammed puts it, “Social media will destroy Nigeria if not regulated.”
The advent of social media in Nigeria has introduced the recurrent use of the word ‘fake news’, whether to mean an information content that is false or to denounce an opposing point of view. Information and news have been shared indiscriminately through online and social media platforms without waiting to confirm or verify their authenticity, resulting in fear, anxiety and backlash in some cases.
In an age where anyone with a mobile phone with internet connection could create, generate and distribute contents regardless of his professional or educational status, contents of doubtful veracity, with some clearly amoral, have been shared among groups by unsuspecting members of the public, thus creating a fertile ground for disinformation and misinformation. From Barack Obama being the anti-christ to content of phones exploding when plugged to electricity to doctored video of President Muhammadu Buhari saying he would islamise Nigeria to those insinuating or expressly stating that the president is dead and has been supplanted by a foreigner from Sudan, the list goes on and on.
Influence of fake news on COVID-19 Pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, restricting everyone to their homes and disrupting the traditional flow of information, more people turned to online sources for valuable information on the novel scourge. But, as usual, the social media space was engulfed in a deluge of misinformation and half-truths, alongside accurate and scientific facts.
Online reports ran with questionable news ranging from plans by Bill gates to test vaccines on Africans to conspiracy theories of the virus. This was quickly arrested and minimised by leading COVID-19 management authorities, both locally and internationally, who ensured that verifiable and genuine information could be accessed by social media users.
Influence on EndSARS movement
When the EndSARS protest erupted, social media buzzed all day with verified and unverified news, videos and images in circulation. Old videos and images rejigged, doctored and imported to encourage one side or the other inflamed passions, especially after the tragic shooting of protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate. With some social media handles counting up to 50 or 70 dead from the incident, and numbers rose and fell with no means of determining the actual number. Even a video of a man adorning a Nigerian flag and carrying a shot protester was later disproved as not related to the event, and after days of outrage and counter claims, about seven protesters were alleged to have actually died.
As if the subsequent nationwide looting of CACOVID warehouses was not enough, false claims were made that the hoarded palliatives were expired and kept with corrupt intent, and days and weeks after, relevant authorities have come out to debunk many of these claims.
What fuels fake news?
Renowned political analyst, Jide Ojo, speaking to 365Daily, is of the view that inconsistencies in government’s information dissemination promotes fake news.
He explained that minimising truth and lack of transparency by official sources triggers a need to fill in the vacuum and fake news is generated. Ojo also noted that the government itself sometimes engages in fake news.
“If you examine and fact check what government officials are saying, you will find out that most of what they do dish out in terms of information are actually either half truths or outright lies. This is why we need to tread with caution,” he stated.
Also speaking to 365Daily, Oluwoalake Afolagbe, an assistant counsel at the International Criminal Court (IIJ), while acknowledging the desirability of regulating social media to curb fake news, said the extant laws should suffice and that the government should not undertake any action that could be seen as contravening the right of citizens to free expression.
He said, “If fake news is allowed to fester, it is very dangerous for the system. However, we must know that social media has come to stay.”
According to a former director general of the National Orientation Agency, Mike Omeri, fake news is a global phenomenon and even the government employs it occasionally in the form of propaganda to achieve stability and state/ regime security. Omeri, who spoke to 365Daily, advocated citizens journalism supported and training by government in digital literacy.
“I agree that there is a fake news epidemic. Yes, it’s being there. It is all over the world. Unfortunately, in Nigeria the growth became so fast and accelerated because this government used it to come to power, and now they want to introduce a law, they are doing it wrongly,” he said.
For former minister of Education, Chimwe Obaji, fake news poses a great threat to national stability and no government will sit idle in such a situation.
“There is a lot of fake news going around all over the place, it does not do good to the image of our country.
“Any little thing, we escalate it, we add all kinds of stories and things and before you know it, people are sharing it all over the place,” she said.