The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced new measures taken by the owners of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, Meta, to address fake news and disinformation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said this in his welcome address at the 12th edition of the ‘PMB Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023)’.
Wednesday’s press conference featured the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godwill Akpabio.
The Minister reiterated that fake news and disinformation constitute a clear and present danger to the success of the 2023 elections, just like violence, insecurity, vote buying, and attack on INEC facilities, among others.
He added, “In this regard, I want to acknowledge the announcement by Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, that it will take clearly-outlined steps to protect the integrity of the forthcoming elections.
“Specifically, Meta detailed the actions it plans to take to combat disinformation and to make political advertising more
transparent. The company committed to these actions before, during and after the elections.
The minister said it hopes Meta will live up to its promise while urging other platform owners like Google (owners of YouTube and others), ByteDance (owners of TikTok), Twitter and the Telegram Group Inc. (owners of Telegram messenger) to emulate Meta by taking positive steps to prevent the spread of fake news, disinformation and hate speech via their platforms ahead, during and after the 2023 elections.