The Convener of Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Africa, John Mayaki has asked Nigerian journalists to desist from exaggerating news and be patriotic when discharging their duties.
Mayaki gave this charge at a media workshop on ‘Balancing Ethics and Patriotism: The obligation of journalists to their Country,’ organised by Coalition for Good Governance and Economic Justice in Africa.
He said journalists must also refrain from deliberate superimposition of different images to make believe.
He said the aim of this workshop was to educate, train and strengthen awareness around journalism, with the goal to respond to the emerging global problem of disinformation that confronts country, particularly in the field of journalism.
“We must all refrain from over-sensationalizing news, refrain from exaggeration of news, and refrain from deliberate superimposition of different images to make believe.
“As journalists and responsible and patriotic citizens, we must refrain from the hyper-partisan selection of facts at the expense of fairness.
“Besides, we must understand that sub-standard journalism being framed and coloured by ideology is not only dangerous for the immediate survival of a nation, it has debilitating futuristic effects”, he said.
He further stated that while fake news has become a major problem for the society, disinformation on its own is particularly dangerous because it is frequently organized, well-resourced, and reinforced by automated technology.
“Those who engage in this prey on the vulnerabilities of recipients in platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others, whom they hope to enlist as amplifiers and multipliers.
“By exploiting our propensities, these purveyors of fake news and misinformation seek to animate us, entice us and recruit us into becoming conduits of their lies and to share same”, he noted.
“Nevertheless, I quite understand that the problem with sub-standard journalism is not the existence of factual narratives, but poor professionalism and political biases of those who engage in it for their immediate benefits without considering its dangerous ripple effect to the society as a whole. Because, if you ask me, fake news has has become a dangerous epidemic.
“Among the objectives of this workshop, therefore, is the training of participants to proactively detect and uncover new cases and forms of misinformation and disinformation – which, of course, is an alternative and self-regulatory approach.
“This workshop is an immediate response to a burning and damaging issue confronting us as a country – the menace that is fake news.
“So, we need to seek short-term and medium-term strategies to identify fake news through fact-checking tools, and encourage information literacy to enable us distinguish between disinformation and misinformation and ultimately, fake news”, Mayaki added.
The Minister of State Labour and Employment, Barrister Festus Keyamo who was represented by Niyi Fatongun said social media which has sidelined the Gatekeeper, came with responsibility.
“Social media has come to stay and it is a good thing. However today people can get their views out to the public without restrictions, but It comes with responsibility. Social media has sidelined the Gatekeepers.
“To kill fake news, it is important to kill fake accounts, fake news is capable of destroying the fabrics of a nation. Social media owners should be able to identify all their users as a way to tackle fake news”, he said.
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