Adesina urges media houses to be wary of fake news, hate speeches

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari , Femi Adesina has urged media houses across the country to be wary of fake news and hate speeches to avoid causing havoc to the fragile peace in the country.
Adesina who made this call while delivery a paper titled ,”The Media and news reporting in an election year,” to commemorate the 2018 Press Week at the NUJ secretariat, Lokoja yesterday said fake news and hate speeches could be avoided through total adherence to the ethical standard of Journalism .
He pointed out that there was huge difference between fiction and news stories, warning the journalists to always distinguish between the two to avoid setting one ethnic group against the other.
According to him, “Journalists should practice with the confine of ethic of the profession.
Law has code of conduct; medicine has its code just like other professions.” Adesina who is a former president of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, noted that the general election is less than 200 days away, adding that how the media reports between now and then would impact on how things turn out.
“Will the 2019 polls lead to the enthronement of the best hands in different positions at all levels? Will the country remain one entity, or be further divided by the polls? A lot would depend on how the media acquits itself,” he said.