The Minister of state, Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zuberu Dada, has decried the scourge of fake news in Nigeria saying that the nation is bleeding due to its negative impact.
The minister stated this weekend while speaking at the launching of Calender and Magazine by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Niger state council, to mark its 2022 Press Week, in Minna.
He said: “Some people, especially those in social media, have engaged in spreading fake news in the country. Unfortunately, some journalists are also involved. Those involved do not mean well for the nation. As a matter of fact, the nation is bleeding because of fake news.”
The minister noted with dismay the high level of unpatriotic determination by purveyors of fake news to destroy the very fabric of the nation, adding that Nigeria will subdue such antics.
He called on journalists to shun the spreading of fake news by employing fact checks before going to the press.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Matane, said the spread of fake news, especially on the war against bandits and terrorists is sending wrong signal to residents of Niger state.
Matane who represented Governor Abubakar Sani Bello at the event, said the state has been on the receiving end of such fake news aimed at discouraging security agencies in the fight against banditry.
He said: “We have instances of such fake news in recent past where the peddlers claimed that security agencies bombed a village and killed innocent children. We fact checked and discovered that it was not true. Again there was the claim that that a particular helicopter was supplying arms to bandits in a particular location in the state. Fact check on this also shows that it was false and fabricated.”
The national president of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo, assured that the union has deployed appropriate measures to stop the activities of fake news peddlers.
