Lai Mohammed Lectures Journalists On Ethics, Says FG To Proceed With Fight Against Fake News

The federal government has said that it will proceed in its fight against hate speech and fake news by injecting sanity into the use of social media and other media platforms, through regulations.

This was made known on Monday by a tweet from the Ministry of Information and Culture at @FMICNigeria, when the National Executives of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) led by its President, Christopher Isigozie, paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed.

According to the minister, journalists must not be found engaging in fake news and hate speech because it constitutes a threat to national peace and unity.

He also urged NUJ to set the pace by educating people on proper media usage, adding that they will be the first victim when the public loses trust in them because of the negative impact of fake news and hate speech.

“As a professional body for journalists, the NUJ has its code of ethics for journalists, and this guides their operation. To the best of my knowledge, the trained, professional journalists cannot afford to engage in fake news, because this will kill public trust in the media.

“As a matter of fact, the NUJ and other media professional bodies should take the lead in sanitizing the social media space, because they will be the first victim when the people lose confidence in the media due to the reckless actions of non-journalists and purveyors of fake news and hate speech.

He also said that federal government has many options at its disposal, to regulate the social media but will consult with stakeholders on which options to adopt.

“There are many options open to us in regulating the social media. There is the use of technology that is unobtrusive. There is legislation. There is the use of regulatory bodies. It is up to the stakeholders to decide the best option.

“But we have also taken the initiative to meet, very soon, with the platform owners, like Facebook, Whatsapp, Google, Twitter and Instagram, among others, to engage them on the way forward.

“Let me be clear: We are going ahead with our plan to stop, as much as we can, the anarchists, non-patriots and purveyors of fake news and hate speeches.”

“No responsible government will sit by and allow these purveyors of fake news and hate speech a free reign,” he said.

But in his remark, Isigozie said that their fear was that the passage of the hate speech bill will suppress free speech in the nation, stop media organisations from performing their duties to the nation and also threaten democracy.

“The union notes with alarm the second reading in the senate of a bill to check the prevalence of Hate Speech by prescribing capital punishment for the offense.

“While we regret the escalation of fake news and hate speech and will support any meaning engagement that will curtail these twin evils, the NUJ will not support this bill which if ultimately passed could be used to silence the media and perceived political opponent,” he said.