Fake News: The Curse of Our Time -By Binta Hassan Liman

Manipulating information was a feature of history long before modern journalism established standards which define news as a genre based on particular rules of integrity. However, numbers of survey into why fake news trend so much reveals that, some are intended to cause harm while others are meant for fun. Yes! Those trending hate speeches are either malice-minded or fun-minded.

Professor Charlie Beckett from the London School of Economics identified ‘fake news’ as a crisis for journalism which “…gives mainstream media quality journalism…to show that it has value based on expertise and ethics. It is a wake-up for fact-checking, myth-busting and generally getting its act together as a better alternative to fakery.”

So, it’s clear that fake news don’t follow the basic ethics of journalism which are truth, fair and balance, objectivity and accuracy. But what are the activities that instigate fake news today despite campaigns against the menace?

Political rivals mobilise and manipulate malicious story with the intention to cause harm or not in order to distory their political opponent(s), a typical example was ‘NBC sanction on Arise TV for airing a fake report that INEC has commenced investigation into a case of criminal forfeiture against Tinubu.’ Another pervasive instance for malicious story in the Nigeria political space was picture of one supposed Sudanese citizen posing as the Nigerian president.

Also, when there’s social point differences, when stories each embodying different narratives that in turn are based on different values and varying perspectives of fairness, contextuality, relevant facts. Another is story of gas explosion in Kano State which surfaced on the internet as a planned retaliation of blasphemy case of Sokoto. This is common among celebrities and ordinary citizens on the media space. Stories as these are meant to catch fun, which in Nigeria street’s slang, they say ‘na cruise.’

However, why are thoes fun-minded and malicious-minded fake story staging individuals seemed uncontrollably by several enactment provisions of the law?

Today, social values are lost generally, so you could imagine what ethical journalism look like in this Digital Age? Disinformation is an old story, fuelled by new technology. Another palavar to the fakery is freedom of expression misuse, which individual miscalculate balancing individual rights to privacy with the broader right of the public interest.

Similarly, through hyper-partisanship by media houses/individuals who intentionally spread misleading content on media platforms is affecting citizens’ understanding of reality. Another, pervasive challenges thrown up by social media platforms which are varied and take place on multiple levels, this fun-minded acts contributed to a lot of fakery story about celebrities and well known individuals or social in Nigeria.

It’s a common statement, fake news incite genocide, violence and at worst war—which no one prays for now considering the effect of Russia-Ukrain war on the rest of the word.

Societal responses on nonchalant attitude to values is the only factor that will strengthen law provisions like bill fake news in order to get rid of this menace.

Binta Hassan Liman writes from Department of Mass communication, Borno state University