By Florence Israel, Abuja
*Warns people dealing in misleading, unfounded news to desist
He further described the fake news phenomenon as ‘the scourge of our times’, which will probably get worse in the months ahead, hence the need for all Nigerians to be very vigilant and not patronize the purveyors of these fake information and by so doing chase them out of the market.
The Federal Government has cautioned Nigerians to be careful in receiving and circulating false information.
The government made this caution noting that cases spreading fake news by through publications by some unscrupulous persons in the country bent on destabilizing the polity and causing disunity among the country’s various ethnic and religious groups, are on the rise.
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday which was made available to The DEFENDER, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, lamented that so many cases of fake news were recorded over the weekend alone, which he said were capable of causing panic, triggering chaos or setting one group against the other.
He noted among others the case a gory video of a blast that occurred several years back got resurrected and was being circulated along with the false news of a bomb blast in Abuja, while the news of a non-existent bomb blast in Lagos was also widely circulated, forcing the police to promptly debunk the fake news.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed also revealed that the latest strategy being employed by the purveyors of fake news is the attribution of such to top government officials, with improbable statements that are capable of heating up the polity, causing tension and destabilizing the country’s already threatened unity.
”This is why we are appealing to Nigerians not to ever engage in a knee-jerk reaction to any news, and to subject every information to a very serious scrutiny by checking with security agencies and government spokespersons,” he said.
He further described the fake news phenomenon as ‘the scourge of our times’, which will probably get worse in the months ahead, hence the need for all Nigerians to be very vigilant and not patronize the purveyors of these fake information and by so doing chase them out of the market.
He also appealed to the traditional media, which has a reputation to protect, to join the campaign against the purveyors of fake news, especially as the websites of many reputable media organizations are being parodied and used to spread these false information in order to gain some modicum of credibility.
”On our part, we will not relent until we have exposed those who are behind this fake news phenomenon and brought them to justice,” Alhaji Mohammed assured.
