By Adebamiwa Olugbenga Michael.
Nigeria’s public sphere is undergoing a dangerous transformation. As unverified stories outpace facts and digital noise overwhelms professional judgement, the nation risks normalizing misinformation as public truth. This crisis driven by declining journalistic standards, technological disruption, weak regulatory oversight, and rising public distrust now threatens governance, social cohesion, and democratic accountability. The consequences extend far beyond local media spaces, shaping global perceptions of Africa’s largest democracy.
Across Nigeria, the social contract between journalists and the public is crumbling. Verified facts are increasingly dismissed as attacks, while falsehoods especially those aligning with existing biases spread with lightning speed. According to the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Nigeria recorded a 55% surge in politically motivated misinformation between 2022 and 2024, much of it amplified by WhatsApp groups and unregulated online platforms. This distortion of truth is not merely accidental, it is rooted in a broader cultural shift where sensationalism often wins over substance, and where critical thinking is overshadowed by emotional tribalism.
The expansion of digital tools has created a contradiction, more information producers, yet lower-quality information. With smartphones, basic data, and social media accounts, virtually anyone can now claim the title of journalist. While citizen media has expanded access to storytelling, it has also weakened the structures that once ensured accuracy, context, and accountability. A 2024 Reuters Digital News Report found that 7 in 10 Nigerians now rely on social media influencers and bloggers for political updates despite the absence of editorial oversight. This erosion of professional gatekeeping has made misinformation not only easier to create, but harder to combat.
The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), historically responsible for setting ethical standards, now struggles to regulate an industry where traditional media competes with millions of unregistered digital actors. The NUJ’s limited enforcement capacity, outdated frameworks, and slow adaptation to digital media realities have left gaps easily exploited by opportunistic players. Regulatory agencies such as NBC have also focused more on punitive fines for broadcast stations than on capacity-building, digital media training, or nationwide media literacy campaigns. This institutional vacuum fuels a cycle in which misinformation thrives unchecked.
The cost of this information disorder is far from abstract. False reports have triggered mob actions, fueled electoral violence, damaged reputations, and escalated communal conflicts. During the 2023 election cycle alone, fact-check groups documented more than 1,200 viral false stories, many with real-world implications for voter behavior, ethnic tensions, and public safety. Globally, studies from the UN and UNESCO warn that societies with weak information ecosystems face heightened risks of polarization, governance breakdown, and manipulation by foreign actors. Nigeria is not exempt and the stakes continue to rise.
Solving Nigeria’s misinformation crisis requires more than blaming bloggers or questioning NUJ’s relevance. It calls for a holistic shift involving journalists, regulators, tech companies, civil society, and citizens. Enhanced fact-checking, mandatory digital media certification, newsroom capacity development, and stronger partnerships with global platforms can reduce information disorder. Equally important is nationwide media literacy education to empower Nigerians to distinguish truth from manipulation. Countries like Finland and Taiwan have successfully deployed such programs, demonstrating that systemic solutions are possible.
Nigeria stands at a crossroads. The nation can continue down a path where misinformation becomes normalized, or it can seize this moment to rebuild a resilient, ethical, and future-ready media ecosystem. Credible journalism must be protected, not undermined, truth must be valued, not avoided. In an era where falsehoods travel faster than facts, Nigeria’s survival as a stable democracy depends on its willingness to restore integrity to public communication. The way forward is clear, strengthen institutions, elevate professional standards, invest in media literacy, and hold all information actors traditional or digital to the same standard of truth.
©️ Adebamiwa Olugbenga Michael,
Lagos-based political Analyst, exploring Ethnic Economics and Urban Policy Through Open-Source Data.
