BBC joins Osinbajo, Soyinka to heighten calls against fake news in Nigeria
Jamie Angus of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka were among critical stakeholders who raised passionate calls on Wednesday on the need to check the ravaging impact of fake news in Nigeria going into elections next month.
The calls were made at the BBC organised event on fake news themed ‘Nigeria 2019: Countering Fake News’. The conference is born out of the obvious dangers posed by the rising rate of fake information in the country, particularly as election draws closer.
Angus, director, BBC World Service Group, told Businessday that the situation was worrisome and that the Corporation had committed to initiating conversations, but would allow the country’s stakeholders to tackle the menace before things get out of hand.
“I think we know it’s a problem which is not only causing confusion and the lack of trust between audiences and publishers, but it’s actually causing a threat in terms of even people’s well-being because we have seen examples with vigilantes, we have seen disinformation leading to violence in different parts of Nigeria, so we know it’s not just media talking point, it’s a real present threat to people’s security, lives and property. So people need to understand that, and that is why we need to take the problem seriously,” he said.
Angus said the BBC was particularly concerned because Nigeria is its biggest single country audience.
“We really care about Nigeria, and as a country we have got a long history of working closely with and we care about the national Nigeria’s immediate climax. But I think more widely, the BBC wants to be the solution to the entire media community in Nigeria. What we are looking for is to mobilize resources, start the conversation, be part of the solution but let the country find its own national selfsolutions,” he said.
As part of its solution, Angus said the BBC would be publishing high quality, independent and verified fact-checking content into the Nigerian elections, adding that specifically around the elections, “we will publish this fact-check stories, we will publish a different sort of key explainer every day”.
Angus, who had earlier participated in the panel discussions, suggested sharing of fact-checked news items by conglomerate of media outlets, which would assist in validating their news items.
“Collective strength of media outfits in validating information through proper fact-check of trending news items is key in curbing this menace as well as media education,” he said.
At the event, Vice President Osinbajo and Soyinka, as well as other panellists called on the traditional media to set the standards in news delivery through thorough interrogation and fact-checking of news items.
“Aside from the damage and the integrity harm done to public information, the capacity of fake news to cause alarm and fear and even future violence had been demonstrated again and again,” Osinbajo said.