Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called on media practitioners in the country to explore all avenues necessary to address the issue of fake news and provocative remarks.
Speaking at an appreciation dinner for top media practitioners at the State House Conference Centre Thursday night in Abuja, Osinbajo said the advent of social media had made the issue of fake news complex that needs to be urgently addressed.
He said fake news or provocative information can cause chaos, civil unrest, war or even death, hence the need for solution to dangers it pose for the country and its people.
“I think all of us in the media, social media, print, TV, all of us, should begin to do something serious about fake news before it begins to consume us,” he said.
He said there was the need for media practitioners to be curious about fact-checking and engage in simple and thorough investigation over any contentious issue for the public to know the truth.
Osinbajo said the lies about President Muhammadu Buhari’s certificate went far and deep because no one bothered to unravel the truth early until it got to the court.
“Just take the allegation of Mr President’s certificate for example, someone said Mr President did not have a certificate but Mr President said he sat for and obtained his West African School Certificate in 1961 at the Kastina College.
“The examination body then was Cambridge University, the same Cambridge University we know. I expect any media organisation to do a simple investigation to establish whether it is true or not. But nobody did it, and the matter went to court.
“And the television said that the WAEC official denied Buhari’s certificate, which is false, completely false. It sounds funny because the WAEC official only knows about WAEC certificate, but this is a West African School Certificate by Cambridge University.
“But because nobody bothered to find out, the public believed the lies for so long. So with the increase of social media and anonymity every day the problems of the free media are becoming more and more complex and even more dangerous,” he said.
The vice president called for support from the media, saying government would improve its engagement with the media.
“I am a believer in the freedom of the press, whether it a responsible press or irresponsible. I just believe in the freedom of the press.
“Every morning, I receive a summary from most of the newspapers, I also receive trending news from social media from my media assistant.
“Added to that, I also receive a special pack that contains latest news, cartoons or insult from the social media,” he said.
