The Social Advancement Forum (SAF) has lent its voice to calls for action against fake news and its purveyors in the social media space.
In a statement signed by its Chairman, Ibrahim Tahir, and Secretary, Shehu Attah, the group urged the authorities to take bold steps to enforce provisions of the Cybercrime Act of 2024 to stamp out the menace of fake news.
The statement read in part, “We believe that there must be an intentional and sustained attempt at combating the manipulation of news, fake news, and the use of misinformation to misguide the general public, or to create and instil fear and panic, in the hearts and minds of innocent Nigerians.
“The political gamesmanship that deliberately uses such propaganda to discredit their opponents or, most of the time, sitting governments is not good for our nascent democracy.
“It is destroying our morality and the good cultural and ethnic values that our diversity has enriched us with.
“We recall that there was a malicious news item that went viral overnight about the sack of three ministers citing a statement from the Presidency.
“And because the ministries involved were sensitive ones, news that their ministers were relieved of their jobs in the night could easily have had grave consequences had it been that other sinister parties had jumped on it.
“The permanent secretary of the defence ministry would have taken over, and the ministers would have been unable to issue directives to officers in the armed forces under their purview.
“We are aware that even less sensitive fake news is known to have caused the downfall of some countries in other jurisdictions,, especially where such disinformation had been used to crash stock markets and other capital market assets and companies.”
SAF cited the example of Rwanda to justify its position on a crackdown on purveyors of fake news and deliberate falsehood in the country.
“It is also a fact that the Rwandan genocide was significantly influenced and incited by careless radio broadcasts in 1994. At the time, the radio station RTLM played a huge role in inciting violence and hatred against the Tutsis. Misinformation and conspiracy theories were spread, and the Tutsis were falsely accused of plotting against the Hutu majority. Thus, RTLM succeeded in creating a climate of fear, hatred, and paranoia that fueled the widespread massacres.
“This is an example of what fake news can lead to, so we believe the authorities need to do more to stem the menace in Nigeria before it leads to something else.
“It is our view that we must have a cybercrime act with more grit, teeth and claws. There must be very stringent and punitive measures taken when an individual or institution peddles fake news or manipulates fake data to pursue malicious narratives or even bring down or destroy individuals and corporations,” it noted.
The group added that the security agencies should be seen to be active in curbing the menace.
