Fake News is often Published to Fuel Ethno-religious Crises, Political tension, Tribal Sentiment- Dr Kunle Hamilton
By Borderless Media
Dr. Kunle Hamilton, Media consultant FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, Media Trainer, Life Coach, PR Specialist, Brands and Perception Manager, President ShaddaiVille Ministries and panelist made the above statement at the One-day media practitioners workshop organized by the National Association of Security News Publishers (NAOSP) held at LCCI Alausa Ikeja on June 21st, 2023. Speaking on the theme The Role of Media, Security Agencies in Curbing Fake News, Cyber Threats and Sundry Security challenges: Need to destroy the Menace before it destroys us.
While addressing journalists and participants at the workshop, Dr. Hamilton emphasized the importance of curbing fake news, especially in Nigeria’s online media space, because of its intense danger, he said the primary aim of the promoters and publishers of fake news is intended to instigate acts of violence, chaos, disunity, fuel ethno-religious crises, political tension, tribal sentiment, character assassination, and corporate deformation.
Further in his presentation, Dr. Hamilton cited the incident on June 2nd, this year, when two vloggers (male and female) deceived members of a restless community in Oke Ira Nla, Ajah, with fake news published on Facebook that led to massive looting and then the burning down of the Overcomers Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ, with three leaders of the church almost stabbed to death.
Fake news sells and spreads faster than both good news and genuine news, and it thrives more on social media. He also identifies the core types of fake news as satire or parody, false connections, imposter content, fabricated content and misleading content. Online news publishers are most guilty of this unethical and criminal news tendency called “fake news. He listed them as News Illiteracy, Rush to Press, many of whom publish on-the-go from their smart phones while in transit in taxis, buses and trains they rush to publish bad news and bad grammar.
He observed that most of them have no Journalism Training, rather they photocopy Publishes which is perhaps the greatest undoing of all.
Dr. Hamilton admonished journalists present to identify what every online news publisher must do to qualify as a well-rounded journalist and avoid the crimes of fake news, hate speech, and cyberbullying. Because Online news publishing has tremendous power to change individual, communal, societal, national, and global behaviour.
In the conclusion he challenged Online news publishers to focus on creating original content rather than relying on press releases and copying news from other sources without proper referencing, by doing so, they can become change agents and patriots, contributing to Nigeria’s socio-economic development of the country with the right information.
He said “let’s use it as such and as online journalists, not just bloggers or vloggers looking for money on the Internet, sharing apt news on the Internet especially Twitter “Our present-day Nigeria requires creative, legitimate, legal, and professional news publishing and developmental commentaries on our online news platforms to cause behavioural change and socio-economic advancement.” Therefore, we should not become blackmailers, mischief makers, or mere opportunists in Nigeria’s media space.
