Be wary of fake news as elections draw near— CSMR tasks Nigerians

The Centre for Social Media Research (CSMR) has enjoined Nigerians to be wary of fake news being used to distort political communication as the country heads to the polls on Feb. 25, to elect a new President.

The Centre said this in statement jointly signed by Prof. Tunde Akanni, an Associate Professor of Journalism and pioneer director of the LASU Digital Media Research Centre, (DMRC) and Dr Akin Olaniyan, Executive Director, DMRC, on Tuesday in Lagos.

CSMR is a Lagos-based specialised media concern with flair for digital conduct of Nigerian citizens, organisations and others, on issues of public interest that affect Nigerians, especially nationally and internationally.

Its public interventions are based on skillful researches based on relevant methods deriving from thorough and ethical consideration.

CSMR noted that disinformation and misinformation, popularly referred to as fake news, had distorted political communication in the run-up to the election, as supporters of major candidates in the presidential election compete to outdo themselves.

It said, “Nigerians need to be careful about purported endorsement by paid influencers who take their unsuspecting followers for a ride by publicly canvassing support for candidates, while disguising their actions as borne out of any political ideology or a genuine belief in the Nigerian project.”

According to the centre, they spread fake attributions and endorsements that purport to show prominent Nigerians as supporting and recommending a presidential candidate.

CSMR cited the recent case of Prof. Wole Soyinka, who was forced to come out to deny widely reported claims on social media, that he was backing a presidential candidate.

CSMR said it was worried that rather than social media to be seen as supportive of resource abundance, providing a public sphere connecting Nigerians and enabling rigorous debate of national issues, social media was becoming a communicative space.

“It is severely affecting the quality of information that ought to help Nigerians make informed choices at the polls.

“Social Media are already becoming anti-social here,” it said.

CSMR noted that it feared that if left unchecked, the growing incidence of so-called fake news portends grave dangers to Nigeria’s democratic process because it undermines for political violence that targets perceived opponents.

The Centre frowned at the willingness of politicians and their well-heeled supporters to pay shadowy foreign firms like Cambridge Analytica to attempt to influence elections in Nigeria by targeting its people with well decorated forms of disinformation and misinformation.

“We make bold to enjoin Nigerian authorities to alert Facebook, Google and Twitter to relevant issues based on our experience relating with some of these concerns having taken time to seek the understanding of their operations and their concerns,” the centre added.

This, according to CSMR, is because their business models reward web traffic governed by targeted advertising and algorithms, which often fail to spot and weed out fake news that are produced through fake social media accounts or political bots.

CSMR, therefore, advised Nigerians to be careful about sharing information through their assorted social media accounts especially WhatsApp, on account of its domineering ubiquity, unless they have been able to confirm that it is true.

It added that “when Nigerians are in doubt, they should ask themselves the following questions before sharing:

“Am I sure of the source? Is it the entire truth? Is it relevant?

“Is it necessary? Will it spread fear? Will it incite people to violence? Will it put some groups or sections at risk of attack? What do I gain by sharing or What do I lose by not sharing?”

CSMR enjoined government at all levels to take the need to embark on massive media literacy campaigns as an urgent social project which promises the direly needed cohesion in Nigeria.