RECENTLY, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, launched a campaign against fake news in the country. He hinged the initiative on the perception that fake news constitutes a tinderbox with the potential to culminate in a conflagration if not tamed. While acknowledging that fake news is a matter of rising global concern, the minister observed that “In a multiethnic and multireligious country like ours, fake news is a time bomb.”
Defined by the New York Times as “a made-up story with an intention to deceive,” fake news more often than not creates fear and bigotry and has, in a few instances, triggered unprecedented calamities in a few countries in the Middle East and Africa. Therefore, as noted by the minister, the menace is a veritable threat to democracy because “mixed with hate speech, it is a disaster waiting to happen.” Fake news being a…
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