By: Theresa Moses
The increasing rate of fake news, which spreads faster than genuine news, is causing harm to individuals and society, thereby having a rippling effect on the integrity and ethics of journalism.
Adumbrating that this has continuously caused a chasm in the digital space, where fake news thrives, admonished media practitioners to be circumspect about the negative effects, which have attracted bad attribution to the profession and practitioners a great deal.
Dr. Kunle Hamilton, Communication Consultant, Media Trainer, Life Coach, PR Specialist, Brands and Perception Manager, and President, ShaddaiVille Ministries, made the call on Wednesday in Lagos at the NAOSNP Media Workshop for Media Practitioners, an annual capacity-building training organized to train and retrain, sensitize, and deepen the knowledge of journalists on the rudiments and ethics of the profession.
The Theme is “Role of Media and Security Agencies in Curbing Fake News, Cyber Threat, and Sundry Security Challenges: Need to Destroy the Menace Before It Destroys Us.”
Hamilton explained that “Fake news is fabricated information that mimics objective media content and intentionally created and circulated with the intent to deceive; often published to fuel ethno-religious crises, political tension, tribal sentiment, character assassination, and corporate deformation.
A practice, aimed by the promoters and publishers of fake news to instigate acts of violence, chaos, and disunity among people.
Reminding journalists of the infamous Rwanda genocide in 1994, and the June 2nd, 2023 incident where two Vloggers (male and female) deceived members of a restless community in Oke Ira Nla, Ajah, with fake news published on Facebook that led to massive looting and then the burning down of the Overcomers Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ, with three leaders of the church almost stabbed to death.
Speaking on the topic: “Curbing Fake News, Especially in Nigeria’s Online Media Space”, Hamilton identifies seven core types of fake news, which include satire or parody, false connections, misleading content, imposter content, manipulated content, and fabricated content, as often used to deceive readers and manipulate public opinion.
“Online News Publishers are most guilty of this unethical and criminal news tendency called fake news hence he advised them to have relevant training to perform to optimal level.
He admonished journalists to shun the practice of rushing to publish, adding that this cutthroat race to publish, makes a lot of Online News publishers, many of whom publish on-the-go from their smart phones while in transit in taxis, buses, and trains rather than from a laptop on desks, to churn out falsehood and fake news in bad grammar.
Sadly, he observed, some of these practitioners are often with no journalism training. “When you operate in the business of professional journalism but are not formally trained to do so, you can become a catastrophe for the profession. You will lack both the ethics and decent techniques of the profession.
“As a result of this, news content creation for them is a big problem, yet this is what they need to stay relevant: to attract online traffic, which in turn attracts Google ads and ultimately, ad income, which is one of the main reasons they jumped into the fray of Online publishing”.
While rounding off his keynote address, Kunle advocated for the establishment of corrective processes to promptly redress the situation, saying that to avoid the crimes of fake news, hate speech, cyberbullying, libel, and blackmail, online news publishers must take steps to improve their skills and knowledge.
He cautioned them to fact-check their reports, engage in independent verification, and attribution and referencing of sources.
“Online news publishers should also focus on creating original content rather than relying on press releases and copying news from other sources without proper referencing.
“Online news publishing has tremendous power to change individual, communal, societal, national, and global behaviour. Therefore, it is important for online news publishers to use this power responsibly and ethically.
“By doing so, they can become change agents and patriots, contributing to Nigeria’s socio-economic development of the country.
In conclusion, Kunle Hamilton succinctly stated that fake news has continuously and would continuously constitute a threat to the society if unethical conducts are not checked.
“It is up to all of us to ensure that we consume and share only genuine news from reliable sources. We must also hold online news publishers accountable for their actions and demand that they adhere to the highest standards of professional journalism,” he reiterated.
Share your story or I Witness Reports with us 24/7 via: SMS/ Whatsapp: +234(0)8072022024, Email: [email protected], follow us on our social media platform: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook:@Gatmash and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel: Gatmash TV.
Gatmash News is one of the most sought- after news portals, with increasing audience, exclusive breaking news and reports across the globe. Plus more. Website: https://gatmash.com
For advert placement, contact us today via email: [email protected] or call our hotlines on Tel: +234(0)8072022024
