Fake news: Clean up your industry now, Kwara gov tells media executives

Kwara state governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq Friday challenged media executives to take up the gauntlet to halt the spread of fake news “that is fast dominating the media space.”

He said leaders in the media industry should not leave the task of regulation to politicians alone, adding that “the earlier the menace is tackled the better for peace and security of the country.”

The governor gave the charge in Ilorin at a lecture organised to celebrate the 60th birthday anniversary of Oloriewe Raheem Adedoyin, a media giant and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“Yesterday (during a courtesy visit to my office), I mentioned to the leaders of the media community who are also seated here a need to frontally tackle fake news and quackery from within the media industry. It is in the interest of our country and our own sanity to do so.

“Leaders in the media industry, politicians and government are concerned about the issue of fake news. Today, anybody can wake up and set up a news agency online unregulated and guided. You should not leave it to politicians to regulate it because you understand the industry better,” AbdulRazaq had told a delegation of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) led by its president and IPI chief, Malam Kabir Yusuf.

“Anytime I see news online, I will first go to major newspapers and if it is not there, I will move away. Now, we should go beyond that because there are a lot of slanderous, unprofessional reports trending online. You need to clean up the industry. So there is a challenge for you especially in making regulations that will check the trend of fake news.”