The Federal Government has on Tuesday expressed concern over the rise in the spread of fake news especially through the Social Media, saying it has the capacity of triggering national chaos. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed made this statement while addressing Journalist in Abuja.
He said the federal government would not hesitate to deal with any person found wanting of spreading fake news and hate speech. Mr Mohammed revealed that henceforth, the federal government will commence strict monitoring of the Social Media, saying if the status co is allowed to go unchecked, hate speech as a menace could inflict untold damage which will leave a lasting scar on our democracy as well as threaten our very existence as a nation.
In his statement, fake news and hate speech “represent a clear and imminent danger to our survival as a nation.” The Minister warned that no sane country will fold its arm and allow fake news to dominate its cyber space and increase our fault line that the government has been working hard to fix.
He urged responsible Nigerians to be good ambassadors of the country through verifying any pieces of information before disseminating it, saying with this the government can collectively fight the menace. Meanwhile, he disclosed that the government will continue to evolve ways to tackle fake news and hate speech until we banish both.” He sought for the support of Journalist to contribute in this regard, saying they have a big role to play in managing the nation’s media space.
