Fake News: Watch What You Share, Lai Mohammed Warns …Backs Bloggers at GPBN Outing

Ronke Kehinde/

 

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has urged Nigerians not to share any news they cannot vouch for.

He stated this on Saturday at the inaugural lecture of the Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria (GPBN) held at Radisson Blu, in Ikeja, Lagos.

The lecture, titled: ‘Combating Fake News in the Cyberspace’, had in attendance the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy Ndisika, Head of Department, Mass Communication, University of Lagos; Basil Udotai, an ICT lawyer; Kola Ologbodiyan, National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was represented by Richard Ihediwa; Chiamaka Odunze, Head Marketing, Diamond Bank; Ramon Nasir Olarenwaju, Head External Affairs UBA, and Kufre Ekanem, former Corporate Affairs Adviser NB Plc, among others.

Speaking at the event, Mohammed expressed satisfaction that the title of the lecture was focusing on combating fake news, just as he noted that the Federal Government has consistently made efforts to create national awareness on the menace of fake news in the country.

He recalled the meeting he had with online publishers and social media influencers on July 24, where he said the fake news was not limited to social media and not new, but what was new was the way and manner that fake news was spreading.

His words: “The war against fake news is a must-win. As a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation, Nigeria cannot afford an unbridled spread of fake news. This phenomenon is exploiting our front lines to aggravate crisis in the country. Of course, you’re aware of a recent report by the BBC that says fake news circulating on social media is fuelling the farmer-herders clash in Nigeria. Gory pictures from other lands are circulated freely via Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, purportedly being from the killings in Benue and Plateau states.

“Let me repeat what I said at the launch of this campaign, the Federal Government will not use cohesion or engage in censorship in order to fight the fake news epidemic. We believe there are enough laws in our books to fight this phenomenon. We, therefore, appeal to you and all Nigerians to join us in the fight against this scourge. We are telling Nigerians to do just two simple things before you share that information on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, please ask yourself how credible the source. Two, don’t share any information which you cannot vouch for.”

The Minister pledged to work hand in hand with the Guild of Professional Bloggers of Nigeria towards eradicating Fake News in Nigeria

Delivering his welcome address, Chris Kehinde Nwandu, the GPBN President, explained why the association was formed.

He said: “Many people come into blogging as journalists, while some simply because they are interested in writing and sharing information, however, one thing that is non-negotiable is the fact that the public must be fed with accurate and factual information and not the fabrication or falsehood called fake news. There was, therefore, the realization that there was a vacuum which needed to be filled, and that is the need to have an umbrella body to regulate the activities of bloggers in the country.”

He called on government agencies to see to the registration of the association as they have made several attempts to register it with the Corporate Affairs Commission, but the efforts were unsuccessful.

In her keynote address, Prof. Ogwezzy-Ndisika said that the media was powerful because of the capacity to influence others and bring about change. She said it was, therefore, expected of stakeholders in the industry to always uphold the ethics and report the facts.

“The Fourth Estate of the Realm must never relent in its quest of being the watchdog of the society. This duty of the media is one that cannot be underestimated. In this era of social media, it behoves of the media to ensure that their platforms are not compromised, no matter the cost involved,” Ogwezzy-Ndisika added.

The don, who was the Chairman of the lecture, described fake news as a threat to the society and development. She urged media professionals to pursue conscious efforts to ensure that the threats of fake news were checked.

 

As 2019 approaches, Ogwezzy-Ndisika urged the media to always verify whatever they were putting out in order not to cause unnecessary tension before, during, and after the election. She said most of the “fakes” were disseminated through social media and online platforms. The don urged bloggers to work at the credibility problems in the online media by ensuring whatever they were publishing had all the elements of credibility.

Also speaking at the event, Kola Ologbodiyan, who was represented by Richard Ihediwa, said that fake news had wrecked the lives of individuals and it had led people who could not bear the weight of the allegation to commit suicide.

He said, “Fake news is a form of deceptive news report comprising of deliberate and outright falsehood with an intent to deceive and mislead for political and financial gains. It can be to attract readership and traffic. The catch phrase today is breaking news and some breaking news can just end up breaking everything in sight.”

In their various papers, Mrs Chiamaka Odunze and Ramon Nasir Olarenwaju enumerated how fake news affects corporate organizations, especially in the financial sectors of the economy.

They urged various financial institutions, especially the Banks, to set up active information desks in their banks where the media could verify information relating to their organizations without any hindrance, in order to curb the menace of fake news.

They said that fake news had a way of damaging not only the integrity of financial institutions but capable of eroding customers confidence in the system.

Mr Kufre Ekanem believed that the emergence of GPBN will separate the grains from the shafts.

He said that it would bring a whole lot of confidence into the system and urged the Association to remain above board in setting ethical standards for not only its members but on how the profession could be practised using global best practices.

A Public Relations Expert, Mr Cornell Udofia congratulated the Association for its steering efforts at sanitizing the industry. He took the audience down the memory lane on how information narratives have changed since the advent of Social media.

The event was attended by several dignitaries, including the Executive Director Daar Communications Plc, Mr Johnson Onime, the Group Head Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Mr Anthony Chiejina, and veteran broadcaster, Seun Olagunju amongst others.

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