… Summit To Tackle Fake News, Misinformation
All bloggers, Vloggers and Content Creators across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have convened a -three day Summit designed to address the nagging issues of fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
A statement on Tuesday in Abuja issued by Dele Anifowoshe, Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the Summit, explained that the former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon(Retd), foremost Nigeria’s playwright and Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Senate President, Senate Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dr. Tajudeen Abbas, among other dignitaries, are expected to grace the Summit in Abuja.
Anifowoshe noted that the first ever National Bloggers and Vloggers Summit, is slated for Wednesday 11th – Friday 13th of October, 2023, with the theme: “Nigeria’s Consciousness Towards Good Reportage, Constructive Criticism and National Development: The Role of Bloggers.”
He expressed concern and worry that many bloggers have refused to draw the line between correct information, misinformation and disinformation.
According to him, “A blogger is someone who writes regularly for an online journal or website. Bloggers write, edit, post, and promote content on their web pages or websites.
“They generate and pitch ideas, compose and edit posts, market posts to readers, and conduct research. These posts may sometimes fall short of ethics of good journalism.
“Now, the fundamental question here is how many Bloggers, Vloggers and Content Creators conduct research and investigation before feeding their websites?
“Are Bloggers, Vloggers and Content Creators more interested in growing their fan base rather than the dissemination of credible information?
“The bloggers have been attributed to as being agents of fake news, this assertion may not be entirely true but the effects of fake news, hate speech and campaign of calumny that characterised the last election was most visible in the news perpetrated by online media houses.
“So many Very Important Persnalities have fallen victim to this clout-chasing online bloggers, several reports of blackmail have also been reported.”
In a bid to address these challenges, Anifowoshe, revealed that the Bloggers National Executive held a meeting recently and resolved “to take a scrupulous scrutiny of the activities of Nigerians on the social media which tend to portray us in bad light, false and malicious publication that tells stories that misrepresent us as a nation.”
He said: “In our determined quest to solve the above mentioned problems, encourage, external investors, safety of lives and properties and the need to pull the Nigerian economy out of the woods on the principal anchor of translating our vast youth potentials to productivity, at our National Executive meeting which held from 7th – 8th June, 2023, we deliberated exhaustively on the best approach to achieve same, it should be emphasised that all critical pointers indicated that if the young Nigerians can channel the energy used in propagating fake news and bad Public Relations to positive representation, Nigeria will gain so much and the youth will be the primary beneficiaries.
“We must be patriotic and embrace Nigerians who have dedicated their lives to serving our father land.”
He stated that apart from Bloggers and Vloggers, other participants expected at the Summit include social media influencers, community based organisations, civil society organisations, conventional media practitioners, National Youth Council of Nigeria(NYCN), students, among others.
The statement further disclosed that the summit will be organised in partnership with the Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon Philip Agbese.
