By: Quadri Yahya
The destructive effects of misinformation to individuals and nations form the central discourse at a Capacity Development Training and Digital Rights Conference organised by FactCheckAfrica an initiative of the Brain Builders Youth Development Initiative(BBYDI).
At the conference, “themed: shaping the future of truthful reporting”, the rector, Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Dr. Abdul Jimoh reiterated the immediate and unforeseen consequences of sharing misinformation.
Dr. Jimoh said this on Thursday in his address at the conference held at the Poly premises with more than a thousand students in attendance.
The rector expressed that misinformation can impact homes and countries, causing irreparable losses.
“If you are carrying rumour or information that is not true, it is capable of destroying home, community and even the country at large”, Dr. Jimoh said, adding that “If you pass information that is not true and that information results into war, any lives that is lost during the war, you have a share of the sin.”
Also, Head of Department, Mass Communication, Olohungbebe Fatiu Tope also said “fake news has caused untold damages to the lives of many.”
He further noted that with Internet penetration, increase in social media users and activities of unprofessional bloggers, fact-checking must form a core of newsroom operations as well as skill set of the students who are future communicators.
“[Fact-checking is important at this time that] the fire of fake news is spreading in the nook and crannies of our country, like wild fire spreads during harmattan,” he added.
Recall that as part of its efforts to address the growing challenge of misinformation and hate speech, FactCheckAfrica has also developed a comprehensive curriculum to combat the menace.
The curriculum is tailored for journalism, media and other communication programmes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
