Across the country, politicians contesting for various public offices have been doing what they can to woo and convince the electorate that they are the best suited to be in office come handover day on May 29, 2023. Unfortunately, in the desperation to get win, and the mentality that power can be grabbed at all cost have pushed political contestants to make statements, which are inciting could raise tempers and cause violence, before, during and after the polls. On the other hand, the ubiquitous influence of fake news, misinformation and disinformation has become so apparent in the build up to the election is so strong that fact-checkers have to work round the clock to debunk the false claims making the rounds.
Added to this already poisonous cocktail of factors is the activities of elements across the country who are challenging the suzerainty of the Nigerian State. Little wonder, their activities have found expression in the recent trend audacious attacks and destruction of offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It is against this fragile security context that the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has been propagating the message of peace journalism as one of the ways to deescalate the growing tension across the country. As a frontline actor in the civic space, CDD has demonstrated enduring commitment in terms of the efforts it has made to galvanize critical stakeholders to bring about an electoral process that is violence-free, transparent and credible. Led by Director, Idayat Hassan, the group has been working with bodies like INEC and the Nigeria Union of Journalists to train and retool journalists with the requisite skills to produce conflict sensitive journalism, which would contribute to deescalating tension, instead of worsening the violence, which pervades the country.
In recent weeks, CDD Countering Fake News Team in collaboration with NUJ and INEC has been present in the six geo political zones to take the message of conflict sensitive reporting to journalists at the grassroots. In the South-South capacity building for journalists and civil society organizations was held in Port Harcourt, while the South-West leg was held in Lagos. Similarly, journalists in the North Central held their workshop in Abuja, just as those in the North West gathered in Kano. For the South East and North East, their capacity building sessions held in Gombe and Enugu respectively.
From the outcomes recorded during the trainings, it is clear that CDD’s approach, which has emphasized that journalists imbibe conflict sensitivity and an understanding of the key provisions of the Electoral Act, is impacting the nature of reports emanating from the media. The capacity building sessions have also stressed the need for journalists to build their skills in the area of fact-checking, so that they can prevent the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
At the capacity building sessions, President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Chris Isiguzo was emphatic about the need for journalists to go about their duties in ways, which would bring about peaceful elections. Comrade Isiguzo’s perspective is that given the central role of the media in Nigeria’s emerging democracy, media professionals must maintain the highest possible standards in their practice, including ensuring conflict sensitivity in their reporting. He stressed that the role of the media in peace promotion or conflict escalation has been heightened by a number of factors which include ownership and funding, editorial policy and the regulatory agencies, just as he admonished that journalism should be used as an instrument in promoting peace and reducing dysfunctional conflict to the barest minimum.
Subsequently, the NUJ President also urged the media to always beam their searchlight on the Election management body- INEC to ensure that it is impartial and competent, that it embraces transparency and inclusivity in its composition and mandate in order to discharge its duties effectively. On the issue of social media, fake news and hate speech, which contribute to the escalation of conflicts in communities, Comrade Isiguzo admonished journalists to avoid hate journalism, and fake news as these evils can destroy a society. He said the advent of multi- media technology has changed the pattern and flow of communication, globally and since journalism is in the business and practice of communication, it has also been impacted upon tremendously.
His words: “The media have a vital role to play in nation building, by being active partners in the implementation of the development processes. They are veritable instruments and are therefore central to any input- output functions of any political system. However, there may be constraints of the media in this regard which among others include lack of conducive working environment, mass poverty, poor remuneration and lack of adequate training.
“It should be noted that the emergence of our country as a democracy in 1999 was a product of collective efforts of Nigerians as represented by the mass media and civil society. Despite its challenges, democracy has provided Nigerians with space to freely discuss their affairs. Every single day of democratic governance in Nigeria helps to further deepen democratic values in the country. Our role as journalists is to facilitate easy access to information that will enhance participation in governance and ultimately enable citizens make informed choices during elections.” Consequently, Isiguzo expressed the readiness of the NUJ to improve the ethical standard of news reportage during elections. He enthused that the union is keen in ensuring that Nigerian journalists undertake their professional duties within the ambit of the Electoral Law and other regulations. He said the union would explore partnerships to realize the goal of improving the news judgment of the journalists, as it affects elections and elections related issues.
Importantly, the capacity building sessions also provided insights about the fake news, misinformation and disinformation ecosystem in Nigeria. Using experiences from previous state and national elections, the point was made about how politicians deliberately recruit fake news peddlers called “data boys” to produce and circulate false information via social media. The sessions, which were anchored by the CDD Technical Team responsible for Countering Misinformation and Disinformation made up of Damian Ihekoronye, Austin Aigbe, Olakunle Abiodun and Abiodun Banjoko regaled journalists with the many tricks and maneuvers used by fake news peddlers to deceive and misinform audiences on social media. Also, journalists who attended the capacity building understood how spread of fake news undermines genuine democratic participation while fueling violence in communities. Several examples were provided to show how ordinary citizens, politicians and government officials become willing or unwilling channels for the spread of fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
To ensure their platforms are not used to spread fake news and misinform their audience, the CDD Team stressed the importance of rigorous fact-checking, verification and the restoration of the gate-keeping function in the media. Journalists across the geo-political zones were also taken through the process of fact-checking, including the use of online tools like Tineye, Reverse Image Search, Google Earth, and Forensically to check the authenticity of texts, images and videos being sent around on social media. Tips for detecting deep fake videos were also shared, especially because such deep-fake videos have been circulated online, leading to the distortion and hoodwinking of unsuspecting members of the public. Journalists were therefore urged to be on their guard when accessing information on social media platforms, as fake news could be packaged in ways, which play to biases, and these biases could lead them to sharing such fake content without knowing it.
In the area of getting the right data sets to make their reporting robust and evidence based, the sessions provided the opportunity for participants to get insights from CDD’s treasure trove of knowledge products. Looking at the misinformation, which comes from lack of knowledge about the drivers of some of the conflicts in the country, a good number CDD’s data-driven knowledge products have helped solve the puzzle about the nature of armed conflicts in various parts of the country, and the implications of these for the elections.
For instance, early in the year, CDD released a detailed report titled; Northwest Nigeria’s bandit problem: Explaining the Conflict Drivers. The report, which was one of those generously referenced in the course of the capacity building deploys research-based evidence to dispel sensational narratives built around the notion of Fulanization. As pointed out in the report, the key drivers of the conflict are the growing salience of ethnicity in land use disputes, under development, environmental degradation, the failure of the criminal justice system, the rise of vigilantism and militia-based local security, and the breakdown of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms.
Data from the report shows these factors have overlapped and exacerbated each other over the preceding two decades, paving the way for the current crisis. Similarly, in March, the CDD released another report with the title; Multiple Nodes, Common Causes: National Stocktake of Contemporary Insecurity and State Responses in Nigeria. The report has for long warned that the Nigerian State faces intractable security challenges, including the Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, violent conflicts between farmers and herders, militancy in the oil rich Niger Delta, the separatist agitations by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra and the threats of an emerging secessionists movement in the South-West. All of these security challenges would shape the 2023 elections, which makes it a lot more important for those who will be reporting the elections to do so with a lot of nuance and insight about the character of the terrain.
Ajanaku writes from Maitama, Abuja
