By Elizabeth ADENUGA
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, on Thursday, urged Nigerian journalists to join hands to combat the rise in the use of fake news and misinformation in the country.
The First Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Embassy, Mr Ayinde Soule-Kohudou, made the appeal at the opening of a workshop entitled ‘ Misinformation, Politics and the Nigerian Economy’.
The workshop which was held in Lagos, was organised by the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), in collaboration with the the Netherlands Embassy, for media practitioners.
The Netherlands official said: ” As media professionals, make yourselves useful tools to fight fake news in Nigeria.
“The fight against fake news and misinformation will help Nigeria make things right in this critical period, ” he said.
Mr Tomi Vincent a facilitator at PAU, said that fake news had become a serious issue in the country and the rest of the world, with each country looking for ways to address it.
Vincent said that fake news spread on social media had badly affected society and cast a shadow on news that complies with professional code of ethics.
According to him, there is need for media professionals to double their efforts to protect the society from the vicious cycle of misinformation.
Vincent also urged journalists to make integrity their utmost value in gathering and reporting of news.
In his presentation. Mr Chido Nwakanma member, Editorial Board, Business Day, said that fake news by definition, threw away ethical practice embedded in the laws and principles of journalism.
According to him, fake news is undermining the practise of journalism and there is an urgent need to stop it.
Also speaking, Mr Richard Ikiebe, another facilitator at PAU, identified truth as the central purpose of journalism.
Ikiebe urged journalists to be careful and skeptical about every information, so as not to be used as conduit to spread fake news or misinformation in the society.
“Professional journalists must refrain from publishing or sharing news without proper sources and thorough review, to avoid inadvertently spreading fake news, ” he said.
Ikiebe called for the introduction of media literacy for citizens, to educate people on how to understand and become informed consumers of media contents.——-NAN
