The federal government has declared that fake news poses a huge threat to the forthcoming 2023 general elections billed to hold February 25 for Presidential and National Assembly, and March 11 for Governorship and States House of Assembly.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, raised the alarm, yesterday, at the 21st edition of the PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) Administration Scorecard Series (2015-2023).
Mohammed noted that “there has been a worrisome and astronomical increase in the use of fake news and disinformation by political actors”, warning that this had become a clear and present danger to the success of the elections.
He attributed the increase in fake news to the activities of individuals and groups “whose aim is to disrupt the forthcoming polls and destabilise the country.”
“This increase (in fake news) is undoubtedly the work of some destabilising agents, some of them linked to the opposition. They are churning out fake news and disinformation on an industrial scale. Their sole aim is to destabilise the electoral process and plunge the nation into crisis,” Mohammed said.
The minister warned that the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration will not fold its hands and watch some “miscreants” with access to phones and data to destabilise the country.
“I am therefore warning the purveyors of fake news and disinformation to desist. The government is not and cannot be helpless. We have a range of options to checkmate the use of fake news and disinformation, and we are looking at the best options to ensure that the agents of destabilisation do not thwart the success of the elections with their unscrupulous resort to fake news and disinformation. A word is enough for the wise,” he declared.
