Webinar suggests measures to sustain Fake news regulation as COVID-19 persists

By Rachel Adio

A virtual public event provided some effective measures to regulate fake news in Nigeria as COVID-19 persists. Curbing the menace of fake news without infringing on human rights is a major concern for most media practitioners.

It is on this note, People’s Check a fact-checking organization organized a webinar, themed, “Sustaining fake news regulation as Covid-19 persists: Involving the entire public in the process ".

The event held on the 5th of September, 2020, had two speakers, Ejiro Umukoro, a multi-award winning broadcaster, investigative journalist, and social entrepreneur and, Kunle Adebajo, a senior investigative reporter, and a fellow at Humangle and Dubawa.

Ejiro explained the critical aspect of the right to expression, freedom of speech and containing the menace facilitated by it.

She also admitted that since the outbreak of Covid-19, the rate of fake news has skyrocketed and that this has been detrimental to managing the spread of the virus.

Ejiro then highlighted five (5) measures that will help sustain efforts aimed at stopping the spread of fake news during this Covid-19 period.
She went on to suggest these following measures: calling for cooperation, educating people on the need to verify news before they spread, punishing erring defaulters with community service as it is a civil offence rather than a criminal offence, etc.

She urged the government to be open and transparent with data sharing and the public should be enlightened as “illiteracy fuels fake news acceptance”. And that news should be critically surveyed before they are spread.

"People share fake news for various reasons but one thing we must note is that no one is vaccinated against the fake news virus. We are all susceptible, and it takes a lot of practice to become less vulnerable", said Kunle Adebajo.

He explains further that it is important we fight against fake news because it brings lots of repercussions with it, and in recent times, it is a matter of life and death. He advised that it is best to always verify the information we are not sure of before we spread.

Kunle reiterated Ejiro's position that spreading fake news should be a civil offence and punishment should not exceed community service. He also emphasised that Public enlightenment and fact-checking remain the key to containing the spread of fake news.