In Every Fake News , There is A Seed of Good News

Fake news is the most worrying modern disease. New technologies have accelerated the speed at which fake news spread. Technology has made lying easier, faster and more credible. Fake news has become a major trait of our generation.

 In the distant past, lies spread by word of mouth. Today, fake news spreads like fire. It is vital to take extra care to ensure that the greater population can ascertain what is true from what is not. The ideology of waiting until fake news raises it’s ugly head before debunking is manifestations of the media weakness rather than smartness, gullible office policy or politics. 

A dynamic multinational organisation must be proactive in preempting the unknown, nip it in the bud rather than reactive to vulnerable areas which can escalate to demean ones reputation.

Misinformation and hate speech threatens the peace, unity, security and corporate existence of a political entity like Nigeria and Nigerians. An avalanche of states across the country are in the news for a wrong reason. This is not because of fake news or hate speech par se. But because their leaders do not mean what they say or say what they do not mean which in turn leads to an erosion of trust capable of breeding silent noise, rumour, gossip, backstabbing etc on the part of the electorates.

 Our leaders good intentions are not good enough because of poor visibility of information to the target audience , consumer or the masses particularly at the home front democracy. 

In every fake news , there is a seed of good news. The good news is that it will wake you up from slumber to take media as a serious business, not with levity. Accountability is the key word to a purposeful genuine leadership. We must be accountable to the people. The best way to be resolute in  the battle against the viral spread of “fake” stories that infect populations with “dangerous” opinions is to take media serious. 

The demand that journalists are permitted to only publish reports that are absolutely true would simply be impractical. International case law has indeed recognised that journalists contributing to public debates on topics of general interest have the right to a certain degree of exaggeration or even provocation.

Enacting a legal duty of truth would provide public authorities with a powerful instrument to control journalistic activities: allowing public officials to decide what counts as truth is tantamount to accepting that the forces in power have a right to silence critical or dissenting voices. 

The masses must be fed with adequate information on any new development no matter how tiny it might be. When there is no news , it is still news. 

We at Koginfo will not fail to dedicate reasonable efforts to verify information. We will not lose the enthusiasm to  apply a critical eye to news sources, favor those that are trustworthy, validate reports before sharing them on social media, and report errors wherever you see.

Attai Stephen

Director of Communication, Koginfo

Lokoja Kogi State, Nigeria