Satisfied with the efforts of Meta, owners of Facebook and WhatsApp, to check the spread of fake news on its platforms ahead of Nigeria’s 2023 elections, the Federal Government has urged other social networking sites to take similar steps to address disinformation and make political advertisements more transparent.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the call at the 12th edition of the ministerial scorecard presentation of the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration (2015-2023), in Abuja on Wednesday.
At the briefing, which featured his counterpart in the Ministry of Niger-Delta Affairs, Chief Umana Umana, the Minister said, “During one of our sessions here, I spoke about the danger posed by fake news and disinformation to the 2023 elections.
He said, “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, during one of our earlier sessions here, I spoke about the dangers posed to the 2023 elections by fake news and disinformation.
“I said the increasing resort to fake news and disinformation by some political actors and a section of the media constitutes a clear and present danger to the success of the elections, just like violence, insecurity, vote buying, attack on INEC facilities, etc.
“In this regard, I want to acknowledge the announcement by Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, that it will take clearly-outlined steps to protect the integrity of the forthcoming elections.
“Specifically, Meta detailed the actions it plans to take to combat disinformation and to make political advertising more transparent. The company committed to these actions before, during and after the elections.
“This is commendable and it is in line with what we have always said, that the platform owners have a big role to play in checking the spread of fake news, disinformation and hate speech via their platforms.
“Meta has demonstrated a great sense of responsibility and we hope the company will live up to its promise.
“We also urge other platform owners like Google (owners of YouTube and others), ByteDance (owners of TikTok), Twitter and the Telegram Group Inc. (owners of Telegram messenger) to emulate Meta by taking positive steps to prevent the spread of fake news, disinformation and hate speech via their platforms ahead, during and after the 2023 elections.”
