Globally, the spread of false information is on the rise. Before now, concerns regarding news focused on traditional media (typically newspapers and broadcasters) and the role they played in controlling public information and sentiment.
In recent times, the focus has shifted to the distribution of news on the internet and social media thereby heralding the era of fake news with its consequences on public information.
Over the years, social media has grown rapidly because it serves various social needs. It has grown because of the increasing importance of networking. Social networking sites (Facebook), microblogging services (Twitter), content sharing sites (YouTube, Flicker) have introduced the opportunity for large scale online social participation.
Fake news, hoaxes, urban rumors and “deep fakes” digitally altered video and photos that purport to show actions or speech that did not, in fact, happen are a rising threat worldwide, but they are especially dangerous to emerging economies such as Nigeria, where internet use is rising far more rapidly than education levels.
In the last seven years, the number of internet users in Nigeria has tripled, 125.7 million Nigerians were online, an increase of over 20 million since 2017, according to the National Communications Commission, as of 2019. At the start of 2020 the country had 27 million active social media users with many more having access through shared phones.
The exponential growth in the use and availability of mobile phones with internet access, as well as the sheer amount of information accessible in the age of digital media, has made the task of filtering out false information far more difficult. Both falsehoods and accurate information can now spread faster.
The term fake news has become widely used over the past few years. However, it is problematic because it lumps together very different kinds of information and behaviour. For example, we need to separate out deliberate attempts to mislead others by creating false stories or disinformation from the innocent sharing of made-up stories by people who believe it to be true or misinformation.
Despite the awareness of fake news among the Nigerians, there is limited alertness with regard to sensitivity of verifying information before sharing. Politics and crisis suffer more fake news than any other nature. Thus, fake news is still crucial because there are rounds of perceptions that influence its nature and thus its spread. Nigerians have negative perception about the extent to which fake news can affect democracy and democratic system of governance.
Creators of fake news post articles on their websites and share them on Facebook and other platforms to generate a lot of web traffic, which earns them money. Audience consumes fake news from a variety of sources and young and old people are susceptible. But particularly susceptible are young people. Fake news comes in different forms that include distorted truth, outright lies, and exaggerated facts and so on.
Misinformation and insecurity
False information risks worsening ethnic and religious tensions in Nigeria, media commentators and researchers say, at a time of heightened concern about internal security and fragile community relations.
The market to peddle falsehoods exploded in West African country after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. And, with greater access to the internet and a thriving social media scene, rumors spread like wildfire in Nigeria.
The federal government had in response to the menace which has reached an alarming proportion launched a campaign against fake news in July 2018 to raise awareness about the dangers fake news portends for the polity.
While some applaud the government for the initiative, others lampoon the government for chasing shadows instead of addressing the root cause.
Images of a baby’s bloodied corpse, a man’s cracked skull and bodies in mass graves quickly spread across Facebook feeds in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation in June 2018.
The Facebook users circulating these images accused Fulani Muslims in the Plateau state an area of tremendous ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of perpetrating atrocities against Berom Christians. In what the authorities described as an act of vigilante retribution, several Berom youths then dragged Fulani men out of their cars and killed them. At least 10 people died.
Along with outright false reports such as this, there are dangerous exaggerations or distortions of true stories, which are more difficult to spot. A day after ethno-religious violence in late June 2018, which reportedly left about 200 dead in Plateau state, one Nigerian Facebook user posted a picture of a vandalised ambulance. The post read: “This ambulance was attacked by the Berom Christian Militia in Jos, with a patient in it, the driver and hospital staff were all killed! Not even the patient was spared.”
The post was shared by hundreds and accompanied by inflammatory comments. The doctor, the nurses and the patient were killed only on social media pages, however. Yes, the ambulance was attacked, but nobody was killed. The post went so viral that the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, which owns the ambulance, was compelled to post a statement to clarify what had happened. Sadly, the truth was shared by no more than three dozen people.
In 2017, rumours circulated that President Muhammadu Buhari had died during one of his lengthy absences from Nigeria on medical grounds, and that he had been replaced by a lookalike called Jubril from Sudan.
The supposed death of Buhari in contrast spread like wildfire on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp, so much so that he had to address the claim at a news conference.
That Buhari, 76, had to even devote time to debunking the claim is extraordinary but the fact it still circulates is a sign of the scale of problem and the task facing the media and fact-checking organisations.
Controversial social media legislations
The Nigerian government has been proactive to develop policies that will check threats from the use of cyberspace.
In 2019, fears of censorship and an authoritarian crackdown on dissent have erupted on Twitter with the hashtag #SayNoToSocialMediaBill by Paradigm Initiative, a local digital rights organisation after a Nigerian federal senator, Mohammed Sani Musa proposed legislation that would hit Internet users in Africa’s largest economy with steep fines or jail time for circulating what the authorities decide is fake news. By contrast, a Nigerian army representative welcomed the bill for “reasons of national security,” telling the audience it would supplement an existing cyber warfare command.
The Nigerian anti-social media bill, officially titled Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill 2019, has caused controversy in Nigeria, where it has been perceived by some as a method of control and restriction of freedom of speech and press. The bill proposes fines of 825 U.S. dollars (about 300 thousand Nigerian Naira) for individuals found guilty of knowingly lying or spreading false information online, and for companies and media outlets the fines could add up to 27.5 thousand U.S. dollars.
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The legislative move comes less than two months after Singapore enacted a similar measure, prompting worries the government could use its newfound power to quash dissent ahead of elections. People who post content the Asian country considers malicious and damaging to national interests could be sentenced to a decade in prison.
Similarly, the Reviewed version of the 6th Edition of the National Broadcasting Code, the media has been awash with the news of an increase in the punishment for hate speech and or fake news from five hundred thousand Naira to five million Naira only.
Democracy dies in darkness
In Nigeria, election candidates were already using WhatsApp to push messages in 2015. Still, the 2019 elections saw a substantial step up in terms of how the leading parties organised their social media strategy.
Fredrick Nwabufo, a political analyst and columnist, said it was “an open secret” that Nigeria’s two main political parties ran “media centres” to pump out misinformation during the election.
A Twitter dataset of over 30 million tweets between 31 December 2018 and 30 January 2019 involving the accounts of major politicians, political parties, media houses, and hashtags that discussed the issue of Nigeria’s election boycott and Biafra secession, according to data analysed in a study released by the Centre for Development and Democracy (CDD).
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Almost 96.4 per cent of the accounts analysed were located within the country, of the 532 that mentioned the issue of Biafra and election boycotts, only 56 percent, which accounts for 301 Twitter accounts were based in Nigeria while 231 Twitter accounts were based outside the country [Chart above].
Muthoki Mumo, an Africa expert at the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based group that advocates for press freedom, noted that lawmakers in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania proposed bans on “fake news,” as “part of an attempt to grapple with a public that is expressing itself more freely and frequently online.”
Hon. Emmanuel Egoh Oghene, member representing Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the Nigerian House of Representatives, warned against any attempt to shut down the social media in the country, saying the action will be counter-productive and will lead the youths to believe that there was an attempt to truncate democracy in the country.
JUST IN: Nigeria Customs Services base on fire! ? Looting of items ongoing.#LekkiMassacre #EndSARS pic.twitter.com/XyjmSf5Tel
— DON UCHE™ ❁ (@ItsDonUche) October 21, 2020
Emmanuel Egoh Oghene said “talking about the recent looting of COVID-19 items, in some places they will be looting, but nobody will know. The government will not know and the police will not know. But because of social media, people will be posting as it is happening and the government will be able to go there and save lives.
“There was a time when some boys were digging the road and because of social media, this information came out and the situation was arrested. If there are no social media, that will not happen.”
Recently, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd) while speaking at the “Multi-Stakeholders workshop for the Validation of the Draft National Cybersecurity Strategy 2020″, in Abuja said the #EndSARS protesters used the social media to escalate tension and looting of the country with the spread of subversive contents.
His words: “We are witnesses to the use of social media to disseminate subversive content to incite violence and heightened tension, causing unrest and sparking widespread looting and destruction across the country.”
The Federal Government will soon unveil the National Cyber security Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2020 to check digital threats and enhance national security and economic growth for the over 200 million population, according to Monguno.
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The scale of the #EndSARS movement on social media is massive. Using Meltwater Explore, the DFRLab tracked the volume of a series of hashtags associated with the #EndSARS campaign over time. The initial peak from October 3–4 initiated by the Wetland Hotel video was dwarfed by the volumes seen after sit-in protests started on October 8.
Reporting about one of the most brutal nights since the #endSARS protests have begun two weeks ago. We got out safe – many others did not. Nigerians are calling it #blackTuesdayNigeria and #LekkiGenocide. Follow our coverage @dwnews pic.twitter.com/oGp9QMgiM2
— Fanny Facsar (@FannyFacsar) October 21, 2020
Meanwhile, over 130,000 people watched the alleged death of a young Nigerian protester on Tuesday, October 20, 2020 on an Instagram Livestream by DJ Switch, a Nigerian DJ and songwriter. The event said to occur hours after the Lagos State Government imposed a curfew in Lagos. The protesters continued their sit-in despite the announcement of the curfew, which was to start by 9 p.m.
The Nigerian Army took to Twitter on October 21, 2020 to deny reports that soldiers opened fire against peaceful protestors during an incident the previous day.
Be Aware!!! pic.twitter.com/BgTxb2eXcq
— Nigerian Army (@HQNigerianArmy) October 21, 2020
Open source evidence also contradicts these denials. Several videos corroborate the location and presence of Nigerian soldiers at the Lekki Toll Plaza, a major toll highway toll concession in the south of Lagos. Video footage posted on Twitter place Nigerian soldiers at the plaza, where they are seen approaching peaceful demonstrators and opening fire. Subsequent footage shows injured civilians being carried away from the same location.
Amnesty International reported on October 22 it had received credible reports of deaths as a result of the incident, while the Nigerian military has yet to send out a formal press statement on the events. On the evening of October 22, Amnesty confirmed that at least 12 protesters had been killed, 10 of which relate to the Lekki shooting.
Amnesty International has received credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos. #EndSARS #Lekki #Nigeria
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) October 20, 2020
An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army and police killed at least 12 peaceful protesters yesterday at two locations in Lagos. Killings took place in Lekki and Alausa, where thousands were protesting police brutality. #EndSARS
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) October 21, 2020
Before then, on October 17, 2020, the Army has kicked off an operation against misinformation on social media across Nigeria codenamed ‘Crocodile Smile VI’ on October 20, 2020.
Lies in the guise of news
Working as a journalist in Nigeria is tough – even getting officials to confirm basic details can be hard. In the face of this, many maintain high standards. Nevertheless, that is no excuse for malicious fiction to be presented as fact, as is too often the case in some newspapers in the country.
Suing for libel would entail expensive litigation and drawn out proceedings. Thus, Nigerians continue to endure the laziness of journalists willing to publish rumours picked up in bars and beauty parlours. And the dishonourable nature of those who, in exchange for lucre, plant unsavoury stories calculated to embarrass the payer’s enemies.
Journalists should not live in fear for their lives if they get something wrong, but they should be very careful about making mistakes. Life is hard for reporters here. At least 19 journalists and bloggers were arrested in Nigeria between January and September 2019, according to Amnesty International.
Truth can be sorted out in court and that his proposed ban would not harm nonpartisan journalists. But the actual outcome remains far from certain. And, for those who cannot afford to fight charges in court, the alternative is pleading guilty and paying the fine. Also at a time that is becoming increasingly financially strained for media outlets, the fine can seem lofty.
Curtailing false news alert’
There is a need to increase fake news awareness, media and information literacy among Nigerians. Nigeria’s government needs to work with the private sector and citizens’ groups to address the root causes of this ethno-religious violence, build confidence in authorities and ensure that fake news does not worsen an already tense situation. A better resolution would be to promote digital literacy.
Awareness should be created so as to enlighten people who use the social media to avoid spreading unverified information and that other social media platform should copy from Twitter in restricting the number of text user can post and identification of a verified account.
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